Here in Your Arms
by Ulquiarra
Summary: After training in private for a month after the end of the Winter War, Orihime finally does what her heart tells her. What will her friends do? What will Aizen do? High School fic, I guess. Extreme Spoilers. Rating may change.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer- **Ulquiorra is dead, so I must not own Bleach. Damn, and I had all those ideas... I'm also not in a band, so I don't own Here in Your Arms, by HelloGoodbye, which I recommend you listen to.

_Our lips can touch_

_And our cheeks can brush_

_Our lips can touch here_

_Well, you are the one, _

_The one that lies close to me, whispers, _

_"Hello, I've missed you quite terribly._

_I fell in love, in love with you suddenly_

_Now there's no place else I could be _

_but here in your arms."_

Prologue

Tears pouring down her face, Orihime reached down and desperately gathered the dirt and ash at her feet. "No, no, no…" she moaned quietly. She didn't really know when it happened, but suddenly, Ulquiorra's death seemed the worst possible thing that could happen. Determination flooded through her. She could change fate. Isn't that what Aizen had said? That she could change something the gods themselves had decreed? Orihime pulled a small vial out of her Arrancar suit's pocket and, with trembling hands, poured in the ash she had scooped up. She could only pray that a bit of the mixture she had picked up were some of Ulquiorra's remains. That was all she needed; a speck of what was once Ulquiorra and she would be able to bring him back to life. Surely she had a speck. Just a speck…

Chapter 1

Breathing slowly, Orihime tipped over the vial on her pillow. A small pile of dust was what she was putting her faith in. Orihime placed her hands over the pillow and a familiar golden glow illuminated her room, which was dark with night. "I reject," she whispered. The glow shone brighter, and she said louder and with more conviction, "I reject!" Certain particles of ash floated together and changed color. More and more dust came together, particles coming out of the air and Orihime watched hopefully as shapes emerged. A white eyeball with an emerald iris was created, soon followed by a grey cheek with a familiar teal tear track. A straight nose, long, feathery, black hair, a white skull fragment that was all that was left of Ulquiorra's hollow mask on the top right quarter of his head all slowly gained form. A long neck with a high-necked collar came next, quickly followed by a slim chest and narrow ribs and hips.

Orihime noted that somehow she was bringing back his clothes too as his long legs finally emerged. His eyes stared blankly at the ceiling for a few minutes, and then his eyelids flickered. Ulquiorra turned his head and looked at Orihime. "Orihime?" he murmured. Shakily, he got out of her bed and stood in front of her. "What the hell? I thought I was dead." Orihime smiled, her eyes swimming. "You were. But I changed it. You're alive. I saved you." She smiled a few moments and longer, and then the drain of her spiritual pressure hit her. She swayed for a second and Ulquiorra's eyes widened a fraction and the last thing Orihime heard before her world went sideways and turned black was, "Why?"

_Orihime decided not for the first time that she had the strangest dreams when she was tired, although this one was sadder than usual. She'd dreamt that she'd brought Ulquiorra back to life. It had been fascinating watching him come back, his body gaining form through strips and ribbons of flesh coming together to make him. The best part had been when he stood up and realized he was alive. Of course, Orihime had to choose that moment to faint in her dream, and Ulquiorra had asked, "Why?", and then caught her by placing his elbow pits under her armpits. She'd dreamt that after he caught her, she had looked up and smiled, saying, "You're alive." She'd dreamt she had slowly reached upwards and placed her hand on his cheek and told him, "You look as sad as usual. I don't think your face has changed other than your eyes getting big. Why is that, do you think? Did you misplace your heart again?" He'd laid her on the bed and said, "Rest now. You shouldn't have brought me back. You know that now I must go search for Kurosaki-" "Hush," she'd replied crossly. "I'm asleep." And with that, she'd gazed at his melancholy face until her dream changed._

Orihime stayed on her bed with her eyes closed, savoring her dream and dreading returning to reality. Slowly, she became aware of someone else's breathing. With a gasp, she shot upwards and she heard a booming noise next to her bedside. She looked towards the noise and gasped again. Ulquiorra was standing next to her bed. "You sounded like you woke up, but your eyes didn't open, so I was about to shake you. I suppose I scared you because you moved really quickly. I had to use Sonido to move fast enough to get out of your way," he explained tonelessly. "Wait, so I didn't have another dream that I brought you back to life?" Orihime asked, stunned. Ulquiorra blinked slowly as a cat, his slit pupils adding to the reminder of a predatory feline. "You dream of bringing me back to life?" Orihime blushed and answered, "Sometimes, I guess." Ulquiorra asked, "How long was I dead for? What happened during that time?" "One month," Orihime replied. "And a lot has happened."

Ulquiorra sat cross-legged on the floor and told her, "Tell me." "Well," Orihime began. "The Soul Reapers along with my friends and these weird half-hollow people called Vizards fought against Aizen and his army. We won the battle, but not without a lot of injuries. Almost all the captains and lieutenants were injured, and a few Soul Reapers were killed, along with the lieutenant of Squad 5. All of the Espada were killed but Captain Mayuri brought Primera Espada Starrk and Lilynette back to life, and after running a few tests on them and extracting a promise of peace, they let them return to Hueco Mundo, and we think Grimmjow is alive somewhere. Everyone is really sad, especially the captain of Squad 10, because he accidentally killed his best friend. You see, Aizen had put an illusion around her, so we all thought that she was him." Orihime's eyes moistened up thinking about it.

"Strange-Hollowified Aizen thing got away, along with Gin, although Rangiku and Toshiro claim that Gin's on our side. That surprised everyone, because Toshiro _hates_ Gin. Tosen has come back to our side. His best friend brought him back. See? More proof of hearts existing." Orihime grinned and Ulquiorra replied, "I understand hearts now, but that doesn't mean I feel the need to show mine. I'm not exactly sure how yet. Anyway, go on." Orihime took a breath and continued. "Everyone's been training really hard, because we know that Aizen's gonna attack, and he's gonna attack hard. The Vizards are super strong, and they've been training the really brave Soul Reapers on how to become a hollow, but they don't like Soul Reapers very much, so not very many people are learning. We're having an explosion of people mastering Bankai and Chad and Uryu are getting really powerful. Oh, and last, I'm now a sophomore in high school!"

Ulquiorra blinked again, slightly puzzled by this last event, and then inquired, "What about Kurosaki? He and I have a battle we need to finish." Orihime glared at Ulquiorra. "Oh, no, you don't. You don't need to battle with him, and you don't need to know where he is. All I'll tell you is he's been training, too, and he's been kind of sort of going out with Rukia." Orihime's face lit up at this tidbit. "They're so cute together! And I brought you back to life, the least you can do is make an attempt not to die or kill one of my best friends after one night."

Without gaining an expression on his blank face, Ulquiorra grabbed her arm and jerked her upward off of the bed. He said in a detached way, "If you don't tell me where Kurosaki is, I will force the information out of you. I was willing to strap you down and force food down your throat at Hueco Mundo. Don't think I won't be just as able of such an act here and now." "And remember when you threatened to do that, I slapped you?" Orihime reminded him. "No," he argued dispassionately. "You slapped me because I was being cruel about your friends' intelligence."

Just then, Orihime heard a knock on the door and a male voice called, "Inoue? You awake? I have breakfast." "Can we come in?" A female voice added. Ulquiorra turned to Orihime and announced, "I won't have to force it out of you after all." There was a pause on the other side of the door, and then Rukia queried, "Inoue? Umm, are you- alone? W-wait! Ichigo Kurosaki, no! You can't just-" The door burst open and Rukia finished, "-charge in." Under his amazing orange hair, Ichigo's eyes widened. He stared around the room in shock. The messy bed, the dimly lit room, Ulquiorra grasping Orihime's wrist above her head, Orihime watching him in a daze, and Ulquiorra looking at Ichigo with a chill expression.

"What the hell?" Ichigo finally spluttered. Everyone was silent. Ichigo repeated incredulously, "What the hell?" Rukia's cobalt eyes moved from Ichigo's brown eyes to Orihime's grey ones, then finally to Ulquiorra's mossy eyes. "Orihime?" Rukia asked slowly. "Is there any particular reason why a supposedly dead Espada is in your room? May I remind you this is the very Espada that killed Ichigo twice, and it's only because of your healing abilities that Ichigo is still with us?" "Umm, yeah," Orihime said guiltily, scuffing her toe on the ground. "I remember. Can I have my arm back, Ulquiorra?"

Ichigo snapped, lunging forward. "You bastard!" he snarled. "Get your filthy hands off of her!" Ulquiorra's jade stare met Orihime's agonized gaze for a brief second before he used Sonido with a loud boom to dodge the enraged Ichigo's attack. Calmly, Ulquiorra held his Zanpakuto Murcielago loosely to Ichigo's undefended neck. Ichigo let out a half-strangled gasp. Impassive, Ulquiorra said, "The only reason you're still alive is because she asked me not to kill you, but if you continue to pester me, then that guarantee will not last long. Do you understand me?" Ichigo growled. "I'll understand when Inoue herself tells me." "Then stop fighting and let me explain!" Orihime cried. "Rukia, help me!"

Orihime moved forward and placed her hand on Ulquiorra's arm. "Ulquiorra; calm down. I beg of you," Orihime pleaded. Ulquiorra matched the intensity of her gaze and Orihime's heart sank. He wasn't going to back down. Suddenly, he sheathed his Zanpakuto. Rukia raced forward and dragged Ichigo to the other side of the room. "Okay, unravel the great mystery of why Ulquiorra Cifer is in your room, Orihime Inoue," Rukia commanded, holding back with no visible effort a struggling Ichigo. Orihime swallowed hard. "Well, when I was in Hueco Mundo, Ulquiorra was my caretaker. He was mean sometimes, but at other times he was really nice, and he was curious about hearts. Besides, at times I think he was just really confused."

Ichigo snorted. "Yeah, right. Dangerously Emotionless over here is just bursting with confusion and a desire to learn humanity." Ulquiorra looked at him coldly and Rukia hit the back of Ichigo's head, understanding dawning. "You befriended him, didn't you, Orihime?" Orihime nodded. "When Kurosaki-kun was fighting the last battle with Ulquiorra, I was terrified. I was terrified that Ichigo would die. I was terrified I would die. I was terrified that our side would lose. But most of all, I was terrified because I was terrified Ulquiorra would get hurt. When he died, I was… overwhelmed. I had no idea how to react. So I let instinct take over. I took a vial out of my Arrancar robes, and I scooped up some of Ulquiorra's remains. And last night, I resurrected him."

Orihime looked around for a few seconds, and then burst into tears. "I'm so sorry! I'm sorry that I became friends with Ulquiorra, Rukia, I'm sorry that I made you get mad, Kurosaki-kun, and most of all, I'm sorry that I made you get hurt, Ulquiorra!" Instantly, all three of them moved forward to comfort Orihime. Ichigo's eyes shot daggers at Ulquiorra over Orihime's sobbing head, and Ulquiorra retreated, allowing Rukia and Ichigo to help Orihime. "It's not your fault," Ichigo consoled. "Ulquiorra is probably a master at manipulating people. No one blames you."

Rukia kicked Ichigo and soothed Orihime over Ichigo's cries of pain. "Orihime, it's all right. Ichigo was right in the fact that no one is mad at you and it's not your fault. Actually, it's really good that you and Ulquiorra became friends. I mean, it already saved Ichigo's life once today, didn't it? Besides, I have thought of a lot of questions I'd like to ask Ulquiorra, if he doesn't mind. I'm sure no one will mind that you brought him back to life."

Ichigo laughed bitterly. "I mind. And I bet you I'm not the only one. How about we ask the Central 46 of the Soul Reapers? I'm sure they have an opinion." Orihime blanched. "You can't! They'll want to kill him!" "Exactly my point!" Ichigo crowed, spreading his arms triumphantly. Ulquiorra watched the proceedings and cut in, "Woman, it is fine. I can go back to Hueco Mundo. I'm sure Starrk won't mind the company." "But I will," Orihime protested timidly. "I brought you back because I missed you. Now you just want to leave?"

Ulquiorra surveyed Orihime looking at him from underneath her eyelashes, which were glittering and heavy with tears. Rukia stared at Ulquiorra in shock as she felt his stiff spiritual pressure soften suddenly. His face hadn't so much as twitched, but his aura had melted down to utter tenderness faster than a blink of an eye. Orihime was too sad to notice, and Ichigo was as thick as mud, but Rukia's mind was sent reeling with revelations and implications.

Her brain racing, Rukia wondered silently whether or not Orihime had somehow managed to get the Espada to like her. Rukia knew that Ulquiorra could never really love Orihime. He was a hollow. They had lost all human traits. They were mainly raw instinct with a few of the basic emotions; joy, sadness, anger, etc. Any 'love' that Ulquiorra had for Orihime would be more like a twisted possessiveness mixed with a bit of pride and want. He couldn't understand, let alone feel, the emotion love. What would that mean for Orihime? For all of them?

Ulquiorra broke Rukia's thoughts. "All right, then what's your idea, woman? You have one, don't you?" Orihime shrugged, a little, uneven jerk of her shoulders. "I didn't really think that far. I guess I kinda thought that I would bring him back to life, everyone would meet and laugh, and then it'd be 'and they all lived happily ever after'." While she was speaking, Orihime had been drawing, and she held up her kindergarten sketch up proudly. The four of them were standing holding hands with a rainbow over their heads. Rukia forced a smile, Ichigo stared in shock, and Ulquiorra simply stood there.

"Are you insane?" Ichigo demanded. "He killed me twice, I obliterated him, he kidnapped you, I brought you back, and we hate each other. You expect us to join hands and find a rainbow to stand under?" Orihime looked down. "Kinda, I guess." Ichigo chuckled hoarsely. "Why? You know that none of us are as pure and forgiving as you." "Well, you always listened to me before. Rukia somewhat likes him, he didn't kill you-" "For a third time," Ichigo muttered under his breath. Orihime continued on doggedly. "And we all know I like him."

"But we seem to be forgetting something," Ichigo interrupted at full volume. "Does he want to stay?" "Of course he does!" Orihime was shocked. It hadn't even crossed her mind that he might not want to stay. She looked at Ulquiorra. "You do, right?" Rukia held her breath, her eyes flickering between the unlikely pair. She knew that what Ulquiorra decided now would change everything; how hollows were viewed, how the battle with Aizen would be decided, whether it was possible for lost souls to be regained, and how Ichigo would react. It was quite possible that Ichigo would see it as a betrayal, or even as a sign that Orihime liked Ulquiorra more than him, which, Rukia realized, was quite possible.

Ulquiorra opened his mouth and spoke. "Normally, I would leave. But I am- strangely- feeling compelled to stay." Ichigo sneered, "Oh, I'm sure. You're not the first person to be ensnared by Orihime and her- figure." Rukia gasped. She was right. Ichigo was viewing this as favoritism. Rage flowed through her as she watched pain spasm across Orihime's face as she whispered, "That's not true. That's not why he's staying. Take that back." Rukia moved forward to hurt Ichigo; that was a low blow; but somebody else beat her to it. Ulquiorra shot off a Bala that hit Ichigo hard enough to send him flying out Orihime's open door and through the hallway wall. The Bala was the same forest green as Ulquiorra's eyes, and was shot off so quickly the only reason they were aware of it was the fact Ichigo was abruptly missing, there were green traces of it in the air, and Ulquiorra's hand was smoking.

"No, actually," Ulquiorra said conversationally through the hole to where Ichigo was in a bruised pile near the kitchen stove. "I'm here to antagonize you. I'm not allowed to battle you, but that doesn't mean I can't defend myself or teach you not to offend me or mine." He was quiet, and then, seeing Rukia's calculating expression, explained while retaining his freezing tone. "Mine being my pride, honor, or that of my…friend. By the way, woman, I apologize for breaking your wall. I will fix it." "That's fine," Orihime assured him weakly.

Ichigo clambered in through the hole and stood, holding his monstrous Zanpakuto loosely at his side. "Why" he asked simply. "If I had attacked him, you would have never forgiven me. Yet, he attacks me and you don't lift a finger." Orihime didn't reply. She didn't have one. He turned to Rukia. "You coming, Rukia?" Rukia hesitated, and Orihime nodded slightly. Rukia communicated with her eyes that she would be back, and then walked to where Ichigo was waiting. Ichigo said, with just a hint of a threat, "I have to tell the Soul Society but I promise, I'll try to find a reason for him to not have an immediate execution." Orihime smiled, instantly forgiving him. "Thank you." He turned to leave and she called, "I'll miss you while you're gone at Soul Society!" Ichigo tilted his head half upside-down and behind him so she could see him grin, and he then walked out, Rukia following and waving good bye, obviously pleased it had ended on a pleasant note. Ulquiorra turned and looked at Orihime, and then questioned, "What now?"

**Author's Note: **Okay, what do you think? I'm just playing around with this, but I already have another chapter written, so I'll post that whether people like it or not, but I'll stop there. Ciao~!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

_No one told me I was going to find you_  
_ Unexpected, what you did to my heart_  
_ When I lost hope, you were there to remind me_  
_ This is the start_

_ And life is a road that I wanna keep going_  
_ Love is a river, I wanna keep flowing_  
_ Life is a road, now and forever, wonderful journey_  
_ I'll be there when the world stops turning_  
_ I'll be there when the storm is through_  
_ In the end I wanna be standing_  
_ At the beginning with you_

Chapter 2

"All right," Orihime announced, pulling tight the bed sheets. "As I said earlier, this is my brother's old room, and you can stay here for a while, until we figure out what's going." Ulquiorra nodded, and then asked, "Are you sure your brother won't mind?" "He doesn't need it anymore," she replied. She cautiously backed out. "I'm going to… go to bed now. Umm, sleep tight?" "You too," Ulquiorra sat completely still on the bed, obviously out of his element and covering for it by freezing over. Orihime shut the door and lightly whispered to the wood, "Sweet dreams, Ulquiorra."

_Later that night, Orihime twisted and fought with her sheets, whimpering from the nightmares besieging her from all directions. Here was Ichigo being strangled, here was the ragged sound of people trying desperately to breathe through blood clotting in their throat, Rukia as she was tied up, waiting to be executed by her own people, Loly and Menoly attacking Orihime, calling her monster, her brother Sora as a hollow, trying to kill her for 'forgetting' him, Grimmjow cackling with mad laughter and thrusting his hand deep into Luppi's tummy, the look on Luupi's face as he became aware of the fact that Grimmjow was going to kill him, the blood dripping down Chad's torso when Yammy tore his arm off, the Ichithing attacking Ulquiorra, slicing him with cold cruelty, the dark energy pouting off Ichithing when he stabbed Ishida in the chest for daring to try and stop him from killing Ulquiorra in cold blood, visiting the Soul Society afterward and seeing all the pain, attending the many funerals, the look on so many people's faces as their lives were permanently changed, their innocence ruined, their spirits scarred._

_Finally, a line up. One by one, Orihime's friends, dead in her nightmare, were laid in a row. Ichigo, Chad, Rukia, Ishida, Rangiku, Tatsuki, Yoruichi, Sora, the bodies of her Six Flowers, it went on. And slowly, unable to stop it, Orihime watched her own hand light a match and slowly she dropped it on the bodies. Then another match, and another, until all that was left of her friends was a burning pyre. The smoke drifted high, and one by one, all of the stars were covered by thick grey smoke and in the smoke, Orihime watched helplessly as Ulquiorra slowly crumbled and blew away in the warm desert wind._

Orihime leapt out of bed with a scream and raced to her brother's room. All she knew was if she laid in bed with him as she did when she was smaller and she was scared, he would protect her and tell her stories to make the bad dreams go away, and in the morning he would buy her present to make her forget the terrors of the night. She crashed into a wall and kept on sightlessly running until finally she was in his room. She stood by his bed crying and he instantly asked, "Woman? What's wrong?" His voice was different and he should have known immediately she'd had a bad dream, but Orihime figured he was just sleepy and wasn't used to her coming to him with bad dreams at her age of sixteen. "I had a bad dream," she sniffled quietly. "Can I lay by you?" "What?" he asked, bewildered. "Please!" she cried out.

She didn't understand why her brother was being so strange. He knew about her night terrors. Finally, he lifted the covers. "Fine. But-" Orihime interrupted by clambering in the bed. Immediately, she snuggled up close to her brother, burying her face in his chest, somehow not noticing the obvious hollow in the torso she was snuggling with, and was asleep in seconds, taking shuddering breaths from crying so hard. Ulquiorra, however, didn't fall asleep for a long time. He was too busy staring at the girl cradled in the crook of his arm and wondering how the hell this had happened.

Orihime woke with a peculiar sense of happiness and nostalgia, like she had discovered something she thought lost, or like finding a photo from a long time ago. Of course,a voice in her commented. You're with your brother after having a nightmare. "No, that's not right," she murmured sleepily to herself, eyes still closed. "My brother's dead." Oh really? Her imagination asked, amused. Then who are you cuddled up with? "What?" she whisper-asked, confused. "I'm not. You're dreaming." "No," a voice said. "I think you are. If you are awake, though, you talk in your sleep. A lot. And about strange things. Who's Bugs Bunny, and why will he win in a wrestling match with Peter Pan? Oh, and just to assure you, because I'm not sure it sunk in while you were sleeping, Emmett and Rosalie are not egging your house. I checked, and no one was outside. Well, a red-headed boy with a bat was, but he ran away, saying he needed to tell his boss that there was an Espada on the loose."

Orihime's eyes flew open, but she didn't sit up. She had broken too many people's noses that way. "Ulquiorra!" she gasped. He nodded. "Good morning." She gaped at him, then slowly what he'd been telling her sank in. "Did you get any sleep last night? After I came in here, I mean." "Not really, no," he answered bluntly. She blushed and looked down, laughing a bit in embarrassment. "I'm sorry," she said, focusing on her thin white night gown. That's when the rest of it hit her. She looked at Ulquiorra, eyes wide. "I just slept with you." He said nothing, just watched her. "I mean, not slept with you, but slept with you. I mean, I have a night gown on and you are…shirtless," she finished, her disbelief increasing to the point where she felt the need to pinch herself just to be sure she still wasn't in one of her strange dreams. She was awake, and completely staggered.

"What happens now?" she asked timidly. Ulquiorra gave her his usual emotionless stare, and then there came a loud pounding on the door. "Orihime! Open up!" A voice shouted. Orihime immediately recognized the voice of her life-long best friend, Tatsuki. She sounded infuriated. "Hide!" Orihime hissed frantically. Ulquiorra disappeared, and Orihime ran for the door. She opened it to reveal Tatsuki, who had let herself in the front door, her face contorted with anger and her fist still raised to knock on Orihime's bedroom door. "Tatsuki? What's the matter?" Orihime asked. "You! You're the matter, Orihime!" Tatsuki sucked in a deep breath before continuing. "Ever since winter vacation, which you claimed you spent with your family in England, you've been acting really weird, and, Orihime, I'm worried."

Orihime stared at Tatsuki. Tatsuki was dressed in her normal tom-boy fashion, her short, spiky black hair was the same, but Orihime could've sworn she saw tears glittering behind her best friend's eyes. "I am just so lost. I mean, you used to eat all the time, even stuff that was completely inedible, and I've only seen you eat a real meal twice in the month you've been back. You used to be really spacey, and, well, you still are, but where you always used come back from a daydream happy, I haven't seen you really smile yet."

Tears pooled behind Orihime's eyes and she threw her arms around Tatsuki's neck. "Oh, Tatsuki, I'm so sorry!" she wailed. She pulled back and smiled at Tatsuki, and, while tears still poured down her cheeks, there was genuine happiness in the grin. "I'm so sorry that I worried you! But don't worry anymore, because I'm happy now. Trust me." Tatsuki searched Orihime's eyes for a minute, then smiled back and said gruffly, "Well, you better be happy now, because if I saw you mopey one more time, I was gonna kick some one's ass, most likely Ichigo's."

"What about Ichigo?" Ichigo announced from the door. "Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime shouted. "Why are you back so soon?" Ichigo smirked and shrugged. "Apparently, messages from me go through really quickly." "What?" Tatsuki asked, bewildered. Ichigo looked at Orihime and said, "Guess what? They decided that they would send him to Kisuke's, so Kisuke could not only experiment on him, but also keep us safe, and he gets to go to school with us. Except for about an hour each day, Ulquiorra is going to be a normal kid."

"Really?" A cold voice asked. "What if Ulquiorra doesn't want to be a normal kid?" Ulquiorra was suddenly in the door way. Ichigo's smirk changed into a tight smile and, not looking at Ulquiorra, he stated, "Ulquiorra gets little choice in the matter. It's that or be killed." Suddenly, Tatsuki's foot slammed into Ichigo's face. "What was that for?" Ichigo whined, jumping to his feet. "You just threatened that kid's life!" Tatsuki retorted, shocked. "What's going on here? Orihime? One day, you're in severely depressed mode, for the first time since Sora died, and then I come in today, and you're back to normal. Then Ichigo shows up, and you start talking about things that make no sense, and then that guy shows up! Who is he, Orihime? Why is there a guy in your house? And what's up with him? _Why doesn't he have a shirt?_ What's with that weird mask thing, and is that a holw in his chest? Why was Ichigo threatening to kill him? Who's Kisuke?"

Orihime bit her lip and looked at Ichigo, who said, "Oh, by the way, we have clearance to tell her." Orihime turned back to Tatsuki and instantly started. "Okay, there are major things for you to know. One, there are these people called Soul Reapers who help stuck souls pass on. These souls are called wholes, and while they usually pass on easily, sometimes they're bound to something on Earth by a chain on their chest, and they can't move on unless a Soul Reaper helps. The problem is, if a Soul Reaper doesn't help a whole in time, they turn in to a hollow, or a really evil spirit."

"Kurosaki-kun is a substitute Soul Reaper. Rukia is a Soul Reaper. Chad knows, because he has special powers. Ishida knows too, because he's called a Quincy. Quincies kill hollows, too. That's all the basic things, but now you need to know what's happened. Over the summer, Rukia was labeled as a criminal and sent to be executed. That's why Ichigo, Chad, Ishida, and I were gone all summer. Those new kids we got after we came back? They were Soul Reapers, too. Kisuke is a- mad scientist, I guess." "Wait," Tatsuki interrupted. "So what happened to you over winter vacation?" "She was kidnapped." Everyone looked at Ulquiorra as he spoke again. "By me."

Orihime gasped. Ichigo laughed. Ulquiorra went sprawling. "What?" Tatsuki asked, enraged. She tried to stomp on Ulquiorra's stomach, but he rolled out of the way. In a heartbeat, he was back on his feet. "You kidnapped her?" Tatsuki hissed. Ulquiorra nodded. "Oh, he's so dead," Ichigo chuckled. Tatsuki's leg darted out again, catching Ulquiorra square on the ribs. He caught her leg and twisted it, causing her to fall on the floor. "Yes," he repeated icily. "I kidnapped her. I am what's called an Arrancar, an extremely powerful hollow capable of rational thought. Not only am I an Arrancar, I am Ulquiorra Cifer, Cuarta Espada, Aizen, a corrupted Soul Reaper's, fourth most powerful warrior, although he didn't know about my secret abilities. He decided her powers, which I assume you know nothing about, would come in handy in the upcoming war. The woman's friends though quickly came after her. I was assigned as her caretaker, so I made sure she was healthy and aware of the going-ons in the castle, Las Noches. Her friends, and the pathetic Kurosaki, against all odds, made it past the generally overwhelming defenses. He came to take her, and, as her guard, I did my best to stop. This included killing him. Twice. Might I interject, he only killed me once."

"That can change," Ichigo muttered. Ulquiorra went on. "I'll admit, at first, I was unkind towards the woman. But, she intrigued me, and as Kurosaki so wisely put it, she 'humanized' me. After I killed Kurosaki twice, she kept healing him, and finally, he snapped. He turned into a hollow, and stabbed one of his best friends. He did his very best to murder me in cold blood, and the hollow in him finally won, and I died. Now, one month later, I quite suddenly wake up from death, in her bed. That is the extent of my knowledge."

Tatsuki glared at him, and then turned to Orihime. "You can tell me the details later. But now, Ulquiorra, you said you killed Ichigo? Twice?" Ulquiorra nodded. To everyone's surprise, she stuck her hand with a big grin. "Well, then, welcome to Karakura Town. I myself am angry at the orange-haired asshole, so you are my official hero. As long as Orihime likes you?" Tatsuki looked at Orihime, who smiled and nodded. Tatsuki beamed at Ulquiorra again. Ichigo looked on in utter horror. "Oh, God. They're going to start a 'Let's Kill Ichigo Kurosaki' club. I can feel it."

Tatsuki cackled evilly. "What do you say, Ulquiorra? Would you join?" "Would it include assaulting Kurosaki?" he inquired tonelessly. Tatsuki grinned in a decidedly deadly way and nodded, then clarified, "But only one on one, we must keep our honor." Ulquiorra nodded. "I would join." "Now, now," Orihime injected hastily. "We don't want to do anything rash." "It's not rash," Ulquiorra stated calmly. "I've thought it through. Many, many times. Before and after I died." "Yeah, I don't get that," Tatsuki put in. Orihime answered, "I have the power to negate things. I can change events that had happened, using my Shun Shun Rikka, these six, fairy things that are my power. I can bring back the dead, heal almost any wound. I can make shields, and I can fight using my Shun Shun Rikka." "She's amazing," Ulquiorra and Ichigo said at the same time. Ichigo glared at Ulquiorra. Ulquiorra just gave him his chilling stare.

"Anyway," Orihime said. "These two Arrancar, Loly and Menoly, became jealous of me and attacked me in my room. Ulquiorra was fighting Kurosaki-kun, so he didn't realize it. An Espada, Grimmjow, who I healed earlier, came in and saved me to return the favor. Then Grimmjow took me to heal Kurosaki-kun, so he could kill Kurosaki-kun himself. Ulquiorra came and Grimmjow sent Ulquiorra to another dimension for a few hours. So I brought Kurosaki-kun back to life once. Ulquiorra killed Ichigo once by stabbing him in the chest with his hand, and it was hard for me to save Kurosaki-kun, but I did. Later, I got kidnapped again and Ulquiorra came and talked to me a little bit-"

"Yeah, and he totally touched your chest," Ichigo interjected. Tatsuki spun on Ulquiorra, who stared back. "I had asked her if I ripped open her chest, would I see her heart." "Don't worry, Tatsuki," Orihime reassured her. "Ulquiorra didn't have any feelings at the time. To him, it was the same as if he'd touched my arm." Ichigo snorted, but Orihime overruled him. "And then, Ichigo came and started battling Ulquiorra again. By the way, this is the shortened version…" "Go on," Tatsuki encouraged.

"Ulquiorra went in to his resurreccion form, which means he'd had a seal on him preventing him from going to full power, and he took the seal off. Then Kurosaki-kun made him really mad, and he went into his second resurreccion form, which was kind of strange. Anyway, he started strangling Kurosaki-kun with his tail, and then blasted him through the chest. Kurosaki-kun died again, and his inner hollow took over. Kurosaki-kun, um, sliced through Ulquiorra's chest, and then started torturing him. Uryu tried to stop him, and Kurosaki-kun stabbed him through the stomach. Then, Kurosaki-kun tried to kill Ulquiorra, but Ulquiorra moved and managed to turn Kurosaki-kun back to normal, but by then, Ulquiorra was too badly hurt."

Orihime swallowed hard, and Tatsuki realized how hard this probably was on her. It seemed to Tatsuki like Orihime was being forced to describe how her knight in golden armor was actually more than a little evil, and her dark prince that she may or may not have liked was being coldly murdered by her supposed savior. Orihime turned to the boys and asked, "Could you guys go outside for a second?" Ichigo, who'd been brooding at his evils being exploited turned and walked away. Ulquiorra stared at Orihime, and Tatsuki sensed something pass between the two before he nodded curtly and walked away. Orihime started again,

"Ulquiorra was crumbling before my eyes. The damage on him was just too severe, and he was dying. It was killing me Tatsuki. I knew he had kidnapped me and Kurosaki-kun was saving me, I knew Kurosaki-kun loved me, even if he wasn't in love with me, and Ulquiorra probably hated me, but for the life of me, I couldn't tell you which one was the bad guy. As he died, Ulquiorra turned and looked at me and said to me, 'And here I was… finally starting to take an interest in all of you.'

"Then he just looked at me and asked in a way that was almost worried, 'Do I frighten you, woman?' I looked back at him, and I remembered him making me eat and sleep, keeping me alive when I didn't have the will to keep myself alive. I remembered him saving me from my nightmares. I remembered the way he was almost always there to protect me. I remembered him asking about hearts, the one thing he couldn't understand, no matter how much I explained. And I told him, 'No, you don't.' Even though he was furry and had a tail and wings, although he killed Kurosaki-kun twice, although he had threatened and kidnapped me, I started bawling when I realized he was dying."

"'I see,' he told me. He held out his hand to me, Tatsuki. His last movement was towards me. I reached out my hand, but as soon as I touched his fingers, they turned to ash. He turned around and looked at what was left of his hand and almost smiled, and then he mouthed, 'This is the heart.' And then, Tatsuki, h-his face was gone. A-all that w-was left was his l-l-legs. I ran forw-ward, b-b-but, he w-was go-gone. Gone, Tatsuki. Forever. Then, grief t-took over, I-I guess. Wh-when I got h-home, I realized I h-had some of h-his ash-ashes. So, I got r-really strong and t-two nights a-ago, I b-brought him b-back."

Orihime was positively blubbering, and Tatsuki, as boyish and practical as she was, couldn't help letting a few tears escape. Orihime's despair was so great, Tatsuki just couldn't help it. She hugged Orihime so tightly, Orihime choked out, "Tatsuki, if you squeeze me any tighter, I think I'll go right through you." "I'm so sorry, Orihime," Tatsuki whispered. "No wonder you've been so down. I can't even imagine what you've been through. I know if I had gone through the same thing, I probably would have been a lot worse than hardly ever eating, sleeping, or smiling."

"I guess it was just so weird," Orihime explained. "I mean, I was so used to having Ulquiorra there, forcing me to eat, that when he wasn't there, it was like I didn't know what to do with the food. Without him there bugging me about it, I just didn't want to eat. And every time I went to sleep, I had such terrible nightmares, and Ulquiorra wasn't there to see what was wrong when I started screaming in the middle of the night. I guess I forgot how to function without him there." Orihime smiled weakly. Tatsuki hugged her again. "Orihime, that's pathetic!" she berated her friend. "You better be damn grateful you were able to bring him back! Besides, I thought you like Ichigo?" "I do, but he's Rukia's," Orihime explained.

Just then, Ichigo's voice tore through the house. "What did you say! I'm going to kill you! Orihime can bring you back again!" There was a silence while Ulquiorra presumably answered, and then Ichigo started swearing explosively and creatively. Both girls scrubbed their cheeks, and then rushed out to greet the latest disaster.

Ulquiorra was calmly sitting cross-legged on the ground while Ichigo, who was red in the face, shouted. "You bastard! I don't know what the hell Orihime saw in you, what she found worth saving, but I don't see it, and I'm going to finish the job, this time for good!" "I would advise against that," Ulquiorra stated. "Oh, really?" Ichigo snarled. "And why is that?" "Because I could destroy you blindfolded, pathetic trash," Ulquiorra answered, closing his eyes. "That's odd, I seem to recall turning you to dust," Ichigo taunted. Ulquiorra sighed, and then said, "You said yourself that it wasn't you. It was the hollow. That means you couldn't have beaten me without the aid from your hollow. Supporting my argument, as you would see if you would have any sense." Orihime stepped forward, but Tatsuki put an arm out to stop her then shook her head. "This is their battle." Orihime nodded and stepped back.

"You stupid asshole! What does that matter? I've been training really hard for the month you were dead: don't think I'm as weak as before. I'm stronger now, so I can now save people like Rukia and Inoue before they get kidnapped by people like you. I can't believe you have the nerve to call me pathetic trash. You are the pathetic tr-oof!" Ichigo's insult was cut off as Ulquiorra's foot crashed into his face. "You don't know when to shut up, do you?" Ulquiorra observed. "So? During that last battle I recall you chattering away too, Emospada," Ichigo grunted from the floor.

Irritation flashed across Ulquiorra's face so quickly Orihime wondered if she imagined it. "Did Grimmjow tell you that? Because he's the one who came up with that 'nickname'. I told him that if he called me that, I would make life exceedingly painful for him. That warning extends to you, too," Ulquiorra said with the slightest lacing of anger. Just then, there was another knock.

"Orihime? Can I come in?" Kisuke called. "Yeah," Orihime said, watching Ichigo glare at Ulquiorra nervously. Kisuke walked in and exclaimed, "Oh! Ichigo! I'm so glad you're here. Now I don't have to send one of those humorous wall messages." He chuckled while Orihime and Ichigo exchanged looks, Ichigo looking slightly relieved.

"So, where is he?" Kisuke looked around before seeing Ulquiorra sitting on the ground. Kisuke went and kneeled in front of Ulquiorra. Kisuke said, "Ulquiorra, I'm so sorry. If it hadn't been for my invention, if I hadn't let Aizen steal it… You wouldn't be this way today. It's my fault that you're heartless."

Ulquiorra asked, "You created the Hogyoku?" Kisuke nodded, his head still bowed in penance. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm proud of you, Ulquiorra." Ulquiorra actually jerked back. Kisuke kept talking. "You may have been on the wrong side, but you were so powerful. You are magnificent, Ulquiorra. I mean, Segunda Etapa! Ichigo explained it to me, well, the little he knows. Your second resurreccion form is- phenomenal. To think I created such a thing…" Kisuke lifted his face, which was awestruck.

Orihime thought about Ulquiorra's second resurreccion. His helmet-turned to horns. The black fur covering the lower half of his body and arms. The black eyes with the familiar ring of green. His Lanza del Relampago. His Hierro. The black bat wings sprouting out of his back. The increased tears. The tail. Orihime thought hard about the image, then suddenly…

Click. It snapped into place in her mind. Orihime gasped. Kisuke was right. Ulquiorra's Segunda Etapa was magnificent. There was a grace and power about him that was amazing, even when he was in his regular form. Orihime watched Ulquiorra again. He was staring at what might have been his father from a certain view. Orihime got an idea. "If there's anything I can do…" Kisuke said. Orihime bounced up. "There is! You can pretend that you're Ulquiorra's dad, and enroll him in high school!" Kisuke smiled. "It would be my pleasure."

"There's another thing," Ichigo started. "Where's Ulquiorra staying?" "In my brother's room," Orihime answered. "No," Ichigo said flatly. "Why not? I don't see any reason why he can't stay with me. He'd be more comfortable here! Besides, who made you boss, idiot?" Orihime argued hotly. Everyone stared at her like she'd grown a second head, except for Ulquiorra. Even Kisuke was gaping at her. "Since when do you fight with people? With Ichigo? You're normally so even-tempered and happy-go-lucky," Kisuke's gape turns to a frown. Ulquiorra looks at Kisuke.

"This is abnormal?" he inquired. Ichigo laughed. "Oh, yeah. Orihime thinks 'idiot' is practically a swear word, she doesn't know the meaning of standing up for yourself, and arguing is the bane of her existence." "Strange," Ulquiorra commented dispassionately. "She argued with me almost all the time. Not to mention she once slapped me when I hurt her feelings." There was a collective intake of breath.

"She slapped you?" Tatsuki said in wonderment. Orihime blushed slightly. "I was defending you guys," she mumbled. "You slapped him?" Tatsuki repeated. "Okay, yes, I slapped him, can we move on now?" Orihime said testily. Ichigo suddenly ran up and hugged her. "I'm so proud of you!" he gushed. "But don't worry, you won't ever have to fight again, I got it all handled." "No!" Orihime pulled back and glared him. "I can take care of myself. I don't need you protecting me, Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Where'd you get that tea?" Ulquiorra asked, pointing to the tea cup in Kisuke's hands. "Hush! I'm watching a miracle," Kisuke shushed him. Ulquiorra sighed slightly. "It's not that rare of a thing." Kisuke tore his gaze away from the scene long enough to say, "It is to us. Surely you've noticed that Orihime loves Ichigo?" Ulquiorra shrugged. "That means she can't argue with him?" "It means this is the first time she's even looked at him with anything less than adoration." Ulquiorra looked away. "Not the first time."

"What are you talking about?" Ichigo demanded. "I've always protected you, me or Tatsuki." "Yeah, well, maybe I don't need you to anymore, Ichigo! I'm not some delicate glass toy that you need to lock in a cushioned drawer, only taking me out when I'm safe in a cozy padded cell!" Orihime yelled. "Well, you were fine with that before he kidnapped you!" Ichigo screamed back. "Oh, so, now you're blaming it on Ulquiorra?" Orihime retorted. "Hell, yeah!" Ichigo shot back. "When you got back, you were so depressed you could barely move because of him. I, being as thick as I apparently am, thought you were just like that around me, because my hollow scared you. And I understand that. My hollow scares me. Then Tatsuki comes and tells me you don't even eat! That's why I brought you breakfast a day ago! Now that he's back, you're not sad anymore. Now that he's back, you suddenly realize how to fight, and you're fighting me, Inoue! Why?"

"Orihime, since when do you fight? Usually you just cry and tell us to stop," Tatsuki interrupted. Orihime looked at her. "Since Ulquiorra taught me that I'm more than a fragile doll to be kept in a box." Tatsuki nodded in approval.

"You're encouraging it?" Ichigo yelped. "I've been trying to teach her self-defense for years. And if she tries it out on you? Well, two birds with one stone," Tatsuki replied. Ichigo turned and punched Tatsuki. Tatsuki hit the ground, hard, then jumped back up to punch him back, but Ichigo wasn't there. Tatsuki turned to Kisuke and Ulquiorra, but Kisuke seemed as shocked as her, and Ulquiorra was watching Orihime. Orihime was glowing with the golden power of her Shun Shun Rikka. Tatsuki followed everyone's line of sight and saw Ichigo pinned to a wall by a golden spike. It wasn't piercing him, but it was definitely threatening.

"That's new," Orihime said, her breathing harsh. "Ichigo, you're still one of my best friends, but whether you like it or not, Ulquiorra's my friend too. Tatsuki has been my very best friend since middle school, and your friend long before that. You just punched her. I'm not saying I won't forgive you, but I want you to leave. I'll see you at school tomorrow. It's Monday, which is my favorite day, so I'll probably have cooled off. Now go." The spike vanished and Ichigo slumped down. "Since when do you need to cool off?" Slowly, he limped out.

Kisuke looked around at all the somber faces, then pulled out his fan and cackled with glee. "All right, who wants to come with me and enroll Ulquiorra?"


	3. Chapter 3

**A.N. Warning-** People, in this chapter, Shinji explains what 'bondage' is to a naive Orihime. Just, beware of that if you're part of Nel's age group. I THINK it's still 'T'. If you disagree, PM me. Thank you~!

_It's only been a week but_  
_ It's coming over me._  
_ It's making me believe that_  
_ You're the one for me._

_ Seven days and seven nights of thunder._  
_ The water's rising and I'm slipping under._  
_ I think I fell in love with the eighth world wonder._

Chapter 3

The loud, shrill, dreaded ringing that symbolized the start of school echoed down the student-filled halls. Orihime was nearly bouncing with excitement, to the amusement of everyone near her. Only, in Keigo's case, his excitement was not child-appropriate. All of her friends, except for Tatsuki, Rukia, and Ichigo, constantly pestered her about what it was. She simply giggled and said, "Wait for it."

When Orihime first got to school, Tatsuki immediately asked where her 'little secret' was. Orihime's reply was to smile and say, "Kisuke wants to have him tested in the mornings, and he's giving him a Gigai, before school, so Ulquiorra's at his house right now. Oh, and Kisuke also wanted him to make a big impression, so he's coming in the middle of class, with the excuse that he was getting his uniform fitted." Tatsuki nodded. Having met Kisuke, this now made _total _sense. Just then, Ichigo came up and blurted, "Look, Inoue, I'm sorry. Rukia pounded some sense into me (literally), and now I realize how judgmental I was being. It was like when Renji attacked me; he was only doing it on orders, he didn't have a choice."

Orihime smiled, privately deciding not to tell him the first time Ulquiorra killed him had actually been _disobeying _orders and replied instead, "Of course, Ichigo. I forgive you, but make sure you apologize to Ulquiorra too, okay?" Ichigo nodded grudgingly, and then said, "Hey, Inoue, how come you can say my name now?" Orihime laughed, blushing, and then explained, "Well, see, I used to have this silly crush on you, and I was way too embarrassed to say your name!" Ichigo went bright red, muttering, "Oh. But, you don't like mr anymore, r-right?" Orihime laughed again. "Of course not, Ichigo. I realized you'll always love Rukia." "WHAT!" Rukia demanded, having walked up just then. Orihime waved and left, giggling.

Now, the gang was sitting in class, and Orihime was freaking out, and charming, nearly everybody. Sighing blissfully, she complimented everyone by her.

Orihime: "Renji, I am so glad that you stayed here. Class is so much more fun with you here."

Renji: "Umm, thank you, Inoue?"

Orihime:"Yumichika, you look drop-dead gorgeous today! Are you trying something new, or are you just even more beautiful today than usual?"

Yumichika: *beam* "Why, thank you, Miss Hime! I am trying something new, and you yourself look positively ravishing!"

Orihime: "Shinji! How are you doing? I never told you before how amazing your shikai is! And now I know why you write your name backwards!

Shinji: "Awww, why, thank ya, Hime! Your fairies are pretty damn sweet, too, and I'm glad you caught that little hint!

Orihime: "Ikkaku, you look very nice today! Excellent job on shaving your head!"

Ikkaku: *smirk* "I know. Have I ever told you how much I like you?"

Keigo's sister: *fume* "Bitch..."

By this point, Miss Ochi, their teacher, was fed-up with the chatter. "Miss Inoue!" she yelled, a vein throbbing. "What are you talking about?" Orihime smiled brightly. "I'm sorry, I'm just so excited! I just get the feeling that today's going to be really good today! And, your eyes are beautiful today! They're so big and luminous!" Miss Ochi blushed at the obvious sincerity in the orange-haired girl's voice. "You know," she started, "It's funny that you are so excited, because we have a new student!" Just then, there came a knock on the door. Still flustered, Miss Ochi went and answered it.

"Come in," she invited, stepping out of the doorway. The new student got various reactions. With his shoulder-length coal black hair, sullen emerald eyes, melancholy normal colored lips, slightly paler skin, and with his hands in his pockets, he presented quite an image. The oblivious girls all thought along the lines of "OMG he's hawt!", "I hope he's not gay...", etc. The human boys all thought "Wow, I don't want him mad at me!", "I hope he's gay...", etc. Orihime's reaction was to sit there, swaying slightly with happiness, broad grin stretched clear across her face. Renji started to jump up, sensing an Espada, even beneath the reiatsu concealer Kisuke had installed temporarily, until he got a stronger one. Rukia grabbed his ponytail and yanked him back down, totally nonchalant about the situation. Shinji raised an eyebrow and started scribbling a note to Orihime. Ichigo clenched his teeth and looked out a window, shaking his head no at Rangiku, who was hovering in Shinigami form outside the window. Holding a soul phone, she asked, "Should I call Captain?" Grinning, Tatsuki waved at him, holding up two badges she had created over the weekend with Uryu's help. A picture of a strawberry with X's for eyes decorated the pin. Uryu had a badge, too.

Uryu was staring at the ex-Espada strangely. A mixture of shock, brief fear, and relief? This cracked into a genuine half-smile as he pushed up his glasses and tilted his head down for a second. When he looked up again, it was to smile more fully at Ulquiorra. Just then, Ichigo, Renji, Rukia, Yumichika, and Ikkaku's soul phones all went off, signaling a nearby hollow. Unfortunately, Mayuri had reprogrammed them to yell what type it was and where. "ESPADA! ESPADA! TEN FEET IN FRONT OF YOU! **ESPADA**!" four phones screeched angrily. Everyone in the class looked at them, Shinji snickering, Ulquiorra giving off an air of scorn. Rukia, Yumichika, Renji, and Ikkaku all did the smart thing and subtly crushed their phones. Ichigo pulled out and banged it against a desk, muttering, "You think I don't know that, ya stupid phone..."

A threatening shadow was cast over Ichigo. Ichigo looked up slowly to see the cold eyes of Miss Ochi. "Pricipal's office. That is the most disruptive ringtone I have ever heard," she said with lethal softness. Ichigo swallowed. "Get!" she barked. He got. She sighed and dusted her hands. "Well, now," she declared. "Now that _he's _gone, why don't you introduce yourself, Ulquiorra, is it?" He nodded and said with his usual tonelessness, "Yes. Thank you, Miss Ochi. My name is Ulquiorra Cifer. I am from Spain, along with my father Kisuke, who originated from here. Back home, I wasn't well-liked because of petty things like envy, so Kisuke gave me a list of things to say. I believe that they are possibly the most foolish things ever written. Would you like to hear them simply for entertainment?"

The girls all nodded, practically salivating. A girl near Orihime whispered to her friend, "Oh, anything to keep him talking. God, he's so sexy. Can you imagine what his bed voice would sound like?" Orihime felt herself stiffen and an unfamiliar feeling flash through her. She frowned and tried to focus on other things. The boys of the class agreed, muttering, "Anything to keep class from starting..." Miss Ochi laughed and gestured for Ulquiorra to start. Pulling out a paper, he stated, "I adore all things cute and fluffy. Chewing bubblegum is my favorite past time. I had a pet cow named Bessie and I cried for days when she died. My favorite movie is Titanic, which also made me cry."

Hearing all of these things in his emotionless voice was downright ludicrous. Renji and Ikkaku were cackling away as Yumichika ranted about his inner beauty. Orihime was smiling at how well he was doing, and he hardly even realized it. Miss Ochi suddenly said after the giggles died down, "Ulquiorra, that was pretty funny. I can't wait for Parent-Teacher conference. Now, can you tell us true things about yourself?"

Ulquiorra blinked slowly and said, "I have served in a war, under an incredible leader, even if he was not on the good side. I had a live panther named Grimmjow that Kisuke accidentally got me. I used to be nihilist. I was once a part of a gang named the Espada. This is the kindest and most honest I have ever been socially; I would, under normal circumstances, refuse to associate with many of you. Lastly, I am only here because Orihime Inoue wants me to be here."

There had been a steady amount of shock as his speech went on, but the last brought actual gasps and whispered gossip. Miss Ochi herself was gaping at him, but at his glance, she snapped her mouth shut before saying, "Well, that was very unusual. I think that we will enjoy getting to know you, Ulquiorra. Now, could you please sit next to Uryu Ishida? Class must go on. By the way, Uryu is the one in-" "The blue crosses. We have met before," Ulquiorra interrupted quietly. She nodded dazedly as he walked and sat next to Uryu. Instantly, a note landed on his desk. Ulquiorra didn't even open it. His eye instantly caught the imprints left on the back of the paper and read it that way. In blue pen, it said,

_I never thanked you for saving my life when Ichigo went off the deep end. So, thank you. If there is anything I can ever do to help you, please, tell me. By the way, our first Let's-Kill-Ichigo-Kurosaki club meeting is tonight. -Uryu Ishida_

Ulquiorra looked to Uryu, nodded, wrote on the back of the paper, _No gratitude is necessary, _and passed it back. Uryu raised an eyebrow, but looked forward, smiling, when he saw the message.

They weren't the only ones passing messages. Orihime looked down with surprise when she saw an elaborate crane land on her desk. Looking quizzically at Shinji, who was whistling innocently, she unfolded it.

_So who's the Espada, and why am I feeling something rather mature between you two? What in God's name was with that little speech?_

Orihime smiled, blushing, and penned back;

_That's Ulquiorra Cifer, ex-Cuarta Espada, my kidnapper, my prisoner, and the fruits of my long hours training with sweet old Hachi._

Shinji grimaced, remembering the grueling training Hachi had given her, apologizing through all of it. Playing with is tongue ring, he scribbled;

_You know, Orihime, strange as it sounds, I never took you for one to get in to bondage. Just what has that Espada been teaching you? But if you don't have a problem with him, neither will we._

Orihime looked quizzically at his note and wrote in the rapidly depleting space;

_Thanks, Shinji. You don't know how much that means to me. I heart you! But what's bondage?_

Shinji took the note and read it. He smiled at the first part and dramatically held the note close to his heart. Then, he read her question. His eyes widened, and then he smirked, a demonic glint in his eyes.

_Bondage, Miss Hime, is a wonderful thing. It includes tying people down and kissing all over their naked, trapped bodies, or handcuffing someone and having them pleasure you, or having someone gagged and blindfolded as you do whatever kinky stuff you want to them, etc. Sometimes, people just tying other people up can, ahem, __**stimulate**__ either party. It's an intense thing, almost painful, either being so dominant or so helpless... Maybe that's why you like each other so much?_

Orihime's reaction was priceless. First, she gasped, all the blood rushing out of her face. Then, she gasped again, her face flushed tomato red. Last, her eyes took a dazed, dreamy quality that meant she was daydreaming. Shinji would have paid anything to see what was going through her mind right now. _I can't decide if I should be worried or amused if it's a memory,_ Shinji thought to himself, highly entertained.

As it was, Orihime was experiencing a memory, just with a twist. _"_If you do not eat, I'll strap you down and force it down your throat," Ulquiorra had told her. Now, Orihime wondered what might have happened if she _hadn't_ eaten that night. Or day, whatever.

_"Woman, I told you to eat," Ulquiorra admonished, his voice monotone. Orihime's lip quivered. "I won't eat it, not until you admit Chad's not dead!" Ulquiorra snorted. "Foolish woman. I never asked you to eat, I told you to eat. Do I have to tell you again? Eat." "I'm not eating!" Orihime shouted. Next second, she was pinned to the couch. "Very well," Ulquiorra murmured, tying her wrists and ankles to hidden pegs she hadn't noticed before. "You brought this on yourself." Instantly, he was straddling her, a spoon in his hand, trying to force it in her mouth. She bucked and arched beneath him, trying not to blush at the feel of him against her. "Woman," he growled, seeing that he wasn't going to feed her this way. He shoved the food in his own mouth, and then kissed her, hard. Her mouth opened in shock at the feel of his hard lips against hers, opening them, his tongue softly playing with hers, pushing the food in with such small increments she couldn't even notice. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't think, not with his hands tracing patterns along her waist. And, she was POWERLESS to stop his hands from touching her body, forcing her to swallow..._

"Hirako, what are you teaching her?" Ulquiorra's sharp voice brought her out of her daze. She turned to see class over, Shinji grinning wildly, and their note in Ulquiorra's hand. "I dunno," Shinji said in an annoying sing-song voice. "I just explained what bondage was and she zoned out. What did _you_ teach her, what with her locked away, alone, with you, and all of those torture devices at your disposal..." Ulquiorra glared at him. Orihime snatched the note out of his hands, feeling like her face was the color of a firetruck. Ulquiorra didn't resist, but looked at her oddly as he ignored Shinji and said, "It is time for lunch. I assume you didn't pay any attention the last two hours, so I will share you my notes tonight at are you house before we go to bed." Orihime's cheeks felt even hotter as she nodded and squeaked, "Okay." That said, she rushed off.

Orihime picked at her food, oblivious to all the looks directed her way. That was, until Ulquiorra softly ordered, "Eat." In less than a heartbeat, her daydream rushed back in full force. Flushing, she mumbled, "I'm not hungry." It was true. She felt nauseous. Ulquiorra sighed and after imperceptibly seeing that no normal person was nearby, he sonidoed until he was right in front of Orihime. His knees were touching hers, his arms were in fists on the ground on either side of her, and his face was very, _very_ close to hers. "Eat," he commanded. Orihime didn't reply. She was too entralled by his eyes. They were so _green,_ and cold, and deep, and jewel-like...

Suddenly, a forkful of her food was shoved in her mouth. Letting out a startled exclamation, she fell backwards, much to the amusement of her friends. "I told you to eat, woman," Ulquiorra stated, moving back to his own seat. Orihime, once again bright red, nodded. After finishing the bite in her mouth, she took another bite, and another, until she was eating with the same gusto she'd had before the Winter War. "I forgot how much I loved eating!" Her cheery shout was slightly muffled by the sheer amount of food in her mouth. Laughing, Tatsuki barked, "Orihime! Didn't Sora teach you manners?" Orihime giggled. "Yup! But I think I forgot them. Oh well. By the way, has anyone seen Chad?" "I'm here," Chad grunted, running up.

"I'm sorry. I slept in today," he explained quietly before noticing Ulquiorra. Shinji beamed at him. "Hey, Chad-o, meet the newest member of our group, ex-Espada Ulquiorra Cifer!" Chad looked at him, nodded, and sat down, pulling out his lunch. "That's it?" Ichigo yelled, jumping to his feet, finally out of detention. "How does it not bother you guys!" "Well, maybe some of them aren't as infantile as you and know that Ulquiorra is a really cool guy, not to mention more popular already," Rukia mocked in the background. "Shut up, midget!" This led into their usual argument, to Renji and Ikkaku's amusement.

Orihime looked around at all of her friends before relaxing into her chair. Everyone was back to normal, and Uryu and Ulquiorra seemed to be on their way to being friends. Orihime knew Uryu had been angry about the ex-Espada's death, because not only did Ulquiorra save his life, but the Espada and Arrancar reminded Uryu too much of the Quincys. A race unaccepted by the Shinigami and nearly wiped out. Starrk and Lilynette were the only ones left, and now Ulquiorra. Three of a kind. Just then, Orihime heard some girls talking at a table nearby.

"Ohmigod, the new kid is amazing!" "I know, right? I call total dibs. I'm going to follow him to his house, and I swear I'm going to do whatever it takes to get beneath him." "But didn't you hear? He already obviously likes Orihime." Orihime was surprised to find herself nodding along with this statement. The second girl snorted and spoke again. "Yeah, so? I bet he doesn't mind, you know how guys are. Screwing anything physically capable of it. God, I can't wait, it's going to be-" At this point, the girl went into a very detailed fantasy. Orihime was also seething, and before she could figure out what she was doing, she picked up her chair and ran at the girl.

"Miss Inoue, I am very disappointed in you." Orihime looked down at her knees, scuffling her feet shyly. The principal sighed, rubbing his temples. "Would you like to tell me your side of the story?" he asked gently. "She was being disrespectful about Ulquiorra," Orihime mumbled. "So you attacked her with a chair?" he demanded incredulously. "Orihime, she's in the hospital with a severe concussion, a shattered arm, and a broken cheekbone!" Horror washed over her face, but was replaced with defiance. "She totally deserved it," she muttered angrily. The pricipal sighed and said, "Orihime, since you're normally such a good girl, I'm letting you off with a warning. Don't do it again, okay? Next time, tell a teacher." Orihime blushed and smiled gratefully at him. "I'm sorry. I promise I won't attack anyone with chairs anymore, okay?" She hoped he didn't notice how broad she was about what she wouldn't attack with. The principal smiled back and said, "You're excused, Miss Inoue. Have a nice day." "You too," she replied sweetly. Walking out of the office, she came face to face with all of her friends, question marks written over their faces.


	4. Chapter 4

**A.N. **Sorry it's so short! I was just feeling totally uninspired...

_Why can't they understand_  
_ the way we feel_  
_ They just don't trust_  
_ what they can't explain_  
_ I know we're different but,_  
_ deep inside us_  
_ We're not that different at all _

_And you'll be in my heart_  
_ Yes, you'll be in my heart_  
_ From this day on_  
_ Now and forever more_

Chapter Four

"First things first," Tatsuki announced. "Orihime, are you in trouble?" Orihime shook her head no, hiding how sick to her stomach she felt. How could she have attacked that girl so ruthlessly? Biting back a moan, her hand subconsciously fluttered towards her stomach. "Then what the hell were you thinking! Attacking that girl with a chair, I don't even know her name!" Tatsuki exploded. Then, calming considerably, she added, "Although, that was an awesome move, where you simultaneously stabbed her in the gut and hit her chin in an uppercut with the chair at the same time." Orihime smiled and muttered a demure thanks. Uryu shook his head and pushed up his glasses. "Inoue, do you think you could tell us what was going through your mind when you brutally savaged that girl?" "Yeah," Renji interjected. "You're like a total peace Nazi, so why'd you go all insane on that girl?" "No," Yumichika argued. "It was a very beautiful attack. Not at all psychotic." "Are you kidding?" Ikkaku laughed. "She looked like she had just escaped from a madhouse. It made me wonder if Captain Unohana would be willing to let her come to our division when she dies."

Ichigo hit them both on the back of their heads, much to Yumichika's annoyance. "Shut up," he told them, ignoring Yumichika, who was frantically fixing his hair. "She'd going to explain." "They were saying bad things about Ulquiorra," she said, eyes flashing with remembered anger. "They had no right to say the things they did!" "Woman, you did not need to risk your reputation to defend me," Ulquiorra chided, coming from between Shinji and Chad. "If what they were saying bothered me, I would have said something." Orihime looked down, embarrassed. "Sorry. I really didn't mean to hurt her that bad. In fact, I actually want to go heal her, but that would raise questions." Ulquiorra eyed her critically, and then said, "You are hiding your guilt considerably. Apologize to the girl after school. I doubt you will feel quite so queasy then." Orihime looked down, her hair hiding her smile. "Yes, Ulquiorra," she whispered happily, trying not to show touched she was by his perceptiveness. After dipping his head in agreement to her acknowledgment of her guilt, he turned and walked off, calling, "Come with me, woman." Orihime let out a burst of laughter, remembering the first time he said it, and chased after him, yelling, "Hey, Ulquiorra do you remember when..."

Everyone looked at each other in shock. Then, Renji burst out, "How the hell did he know she was feeling guilty?" "I know!" Tatsuki agreed, her own guilt flashing across her face. "Even I didn't pick up on how guilty she felt, which is obvious, now that I think about it, but Ulquiorra caught it in a heartbeat!" "What I want to know," Ichigo picked up, "is how he figured out her body language so well. I mean, her hand barely twitched, now that I think about it!" "Isn't it obvious?" Uryu sighed. "What's obvious?" Shinji asked. "He was her _guard_; of course he has all of her body language down to pat," Uryu explained with irritation. "He probably had to know when she was lying and when she wasn't. And wasn't he always talking about his eye seeing everything?"

"Oh yeah," Ichigo said, with dawning realization. "And now I also realize why she likes him so much. Ugh, my dad was talking about it really loudly last night, what was it...? Oh yeah! Stockton Syndrome!" "No," Rukia argued. "He said Stockholm Syndrome, dimwit. I think your orange hair sucked up any intelligence you might have had. By the way, you still haven't explained what Inoue said today. When I asked you about it you just screamed you had to go and ran off." Ichigo blushed and mumbled, "I'll talk about it later. Like, maybe after I'm already in Soul Society."

Everyone else turned away, ignoring the bickering that already started. Sighing, Tatsuki said, "C'mon, guys. Let's get back to class. We have Creative Writing next." Everyone groaned as they started trekking to class. The teacher, Miss Samini, was beyond hyper active. As soon as they slid in their seats, waving to the already present Orihime and Ulquiorra, Miss Samini started.

"All right, class!" she trilled. "Today we are working on our rhyming! Now, I know you're natural instinct is to groan, but I shall make a compromise with you! You're free to write whatever you like, so long as it rhymes!" Ichigo moaned loudly and started explaining to his oblivious friends what rhyming was. Tatsuki started banging her head on the desk, Chad patting her shoulder consolingly, Uryu already excitedly working along-side Shinji, who was just as psyched.

Ulquiorra turned to Orihime and stated blandly, "I do not understand the meaning of this assignment." Orihime smiled and responded eagerly, "Oh, that's okay, Ulquiorra! I've had this idea I've been mulling over for a while now, so I can show you and you can make your own, okay?" Ulquiorra nodded and watched, his interest piqued as she struggled to come up with things that rhymed. After about fifteen minutes, he started on his own, words flowing instinctively out of his pen.

Half an hour later, Miss Samini wandered over to where Orihime and Ulquiorra were working. Reading the two pages interestedly over their shoulders, she gasped and clapped her hands gleefully. Grabbing the two of them, she shoved them up to the front of the room and sang, "Orihime, please, grace us with the honor of reading us your beautiful poem?" Blushing, Orihime read from her paper, her voice smooth and fluid, hypnotic to all in the class.

_"Hidden in walls of white_

_That paint a darkness so bright_

_Shadow and Day dance in eternal night.  
_

_Virtue twines with Sin_

_Protective armor wearing thin_

_Playing a game neither can win.  
_

_The time the Moon stole the Sun,_

_When natural boundaries were not yet done,_

_The Princess and the Dragon's tale was begun.  
_

_Their hatred for each other was clear_

_But for the day she shed a tear_

_Not knowing her captor was standing near.  
_

_The Hollow asked of the Heart_

_What it was that set them apart_

_Desire stemmed from curiosity's start.  
_

_Her soft words changed what he knew_

_On what was real and on what was true_

_They talked often and closer they grew.  
_

_One day the Demon realized she was his light_

_And the Angel discovered he consumed her sight_

_They'd fight to be together, together they'd fight.  
_

_Now you can find them one and the same_

_Him her dark knight, her his light dame_

_Together forever and the heart is to blame."_

There was a stunned silence at her words, the last stanza echoing slightly in everyone's brains. Ulquiorra stared at her, envy-colored eyes filled with silent amazement and approval. After a while, an applause built up, Orihime's friends smiling and whooping with approval. After the applause died down, Miss Samini cleared her throat for attention. "Now, you, if you would, Ulquiorra." Ulquiorra looked at her and nodded. Opening his mouth, words poured out, words that one would not expect to come from the 'emotionless' Espada.

_"My tender, my child,_

_You know it pains me to watch you cry._

_My honey, my sweet,_

_You know; so why do you ask me why?  
_

_My beautiful, my dear,_

_You know it's not fair._

_My love, my precious,_

_You know they don't care.  
_

_My soul, my heart,_

_You know that I love you._

_My life, my death,_

_You know I speak true.  
_

_You know you would love to keep up all the pretending _

_But, darling, you know;_

_**We don't get a happy ending.**__"_

For the second time in five minutes, all sounds in the room ceased to exist. The quiet resignation and bittersweet words had shocked everybody, as well as the many terms of endearment. Once more, the sounds built up again in wild approval. When they were finished, Miss Samini said, strangely serious, "That was pretty amazing, you two. And not only what you wrote, but the way you spoke, you could have been addressing the same subject, just with different endings. It's too bad that the demon of Orihime's fairytale is so set in his belief of unworthiness, isn't it? Although, he doesn't even seem to be aware of it."

After school finished, Orihime found a strange spurt of energy and raced off from her lethargic friends, dragging a semi-annoyed Ulquiorra with her. Shaking her head, Rukia turned to say something to Ichigo when a loud scream interrupted her. Tatsuki was off like a shot, the others barely behind her.

Orihime looked up at the sky, a broad grin stretched across her face. She really didn't know why, but she'd grown a strange attachment to him. Luckily, her joyous shriek had caught his attention, and, grinning, he was descending down like one would a winding staircase- on thin air. "Ah, Princess. Why am I not surprised to see you again? Although, it does surprise me Ulquiorra is at your side. Ha! Nnoitra did see it coming!" Grimmjow laughed as he stepped in front of Orihime. She looked at him quizzically. "What do you mean? Nnoitra saw what coming?" Grimmjow scowled. "Don't tell me. You two haven't figured it out yet? Wow. That's a blow to the intelligence of Espada and weird demi-goddess beings everywhere."

"That's too bad," Ulquiorra returned. "I mean, seeing as your intelligence couldn't possibly survive anymore hits. Speaking of, how are you alive?" Grimmjow smirked and hugged Orihime, speaking over her shoulder to Ulquiorra. "I'm choosing to ignore the last part of your statement. I'm doing freaking amazing, how are you?" As he said that, he lowered his hands slightly, grinning when Ulquiorra's eyes narrowed the tiniest bit. "I was doing a lot better until I saw your god-awful hair, thank you." Grimmjow jumped back, feigned irritation on his face. "Ulquiorra! Since when do you swear?" Ulquiorra closed his eyes and took Orihime's wrist, dragging her back to him. "Apparently, your nasty habits rub off on me, seeing as I only use such vulgar language when you're in the vicinity."

Just then, Tatsuki came into the picture. Using her Tatsuki-Patented-Target-Seeker, virtual cross-hairs immediately landed on the oblivious Grimmjow. So, it was to Ulquiorra's amusement, Orihime's distress, and Grimmjow's shock when Grimmjow was suddenly pinned to the ground, his cheek pressed into the concrete and his arms in a position that meant the slightest move would cause them to snap. "Who the hell are you and why did you make Orihime scream?" Tatsuki snarled, fire practically pouring out of her mouth to the overactive imagination of everyone there. "Abuse! ABUSE! STRANGER DANGER!" was Grimmjow's infuriating bellowed response. Ichigo laughed, coming on the scene. "Who exactly do you want to save you, Grimmjow? No normal people can see you, and all the abnormal people are having too much fun watching you get your ass kicked by a human," Ichigo mocked. "Are you kidding me!" Grimmjow hissed. "She's not human! I'm Sexta Espada; a human can't hold me down! She's part fucking dragon, I swear!"

Tatsuki yanked his arm, causing a sickening crack. "Why did Orihime scream?" she growled again. "'Cause she was so damned overjoyed to see me, now get off my back, you insane freak!" Grimmjow hollered back. Orihime interrupted with, "Umm, he's right Tatsuki. Could you move, so I can heal him?" Tatsuki sniffed and went to stand by her princess, her arms folded. Orihime moved over the cussing Grimmjow and started her fairies' work while Ulquiorra told Tatsuki, "That was very well done. Trust me, he deserved every second of that." Tatsuki smiled devilishly.

"So, Grimmjow, why are you here?" Orihime asked as she vanished scar after scar from Grimmjow's mauled and healed body. "Because Hueco Mundo is boring and the strawberry promised he'd fight me, no matter what condition we're both in. Also, because I got dared by some weird guy in a hat to come eat your food." Orihime frowned. A guy in a hat? Why would Kisuke send Grimmjow to her? Shrugging, she called back her Shun Shun Rikka, seeing her work was done. Grimmjow stood and muttered, "Thanks, Princess," before charging at Ichigo. Ichigo's eyes widened as he mumbled helplessly, "Oh, shit, no! Grimmjow, not so soon!" Before Grimmjow could hit Ichigo, however, a blade stopped him. Frowning, Shinji said, "Huh. I could have sworn I kicked your ass before."

**A.N **Okay, because I couldn't get it to work, their poems' stanzas are, for Orihime, every three lines, and for Ulquiorra, every four lines and the last three lines.


	5. Chapter 5

**A.N.** I'm really sorry, people! I have really bad writer's block on this story, so updates are going to be coming slowly for a while, and they might not be as good as I want them to be! Please, forgive me for my slothness, and don't expect much for a while...

_We're flying through the night,_  
_We're flying through the night,_  
_Way up high._  
_The view from here is getting better_  
_ with you by my side._

Chapter Four

Orihime groaned loudly as she plopped on the couch, throwing an arm dramatically over her face. She heard Ulquiorra pause momentarily, probably trying to figure out if this was normal, before walking off to his room. Orihime's lips twitched upwards, even though she was dead tired. Thank goodness her teachers hadn't given any homework today.

She thought of the confrontation earlier. After that dramatic line, Shinji had lunged forward to attack Grimmjow. To everyone's surprise, probably even his own, Ichigo had stepped in front of Grimmjow and blocked the blow. Shinji's grey eyes and Grimmjow's blue eyes had both widened comically. Ichigo had looked behind him at Grimmjow, and then told Shinji, "He's right. I did promise I could fight him whenever, as long as he admit defeat when he lost, just like I would." Shinji's gaze had turned calculating, then all of a sudden he smiled broadly and laughed loudly. Still chuckling, he had walked off, waving good-bye over his shoulder. Everyone had stared at his retreating back until Grimmjow shouted, "What the hell was that for! I don't need you protecting me!" Ichigo had yelled back, "Oh yeah? Well, he wasn't kidding when he said he had kicked your ass before!" This had turned into a wrestling match. Pretty quickly, everyone got tired of watching them grope each other under the pretense of fighting and wandered off.

Orihime sighed with happiness. She already though of Grimmjow as family, and she'd always wanted a gay older brother! They could go shopping together, and tell each other pick up lines, and- "Woman, I _highly _doubt Grimmjow will do any of those things with you." Orihime gasped and removed her arm to see Ulquiorra staring impassively at her. "How'd you know what I was thinking?" she asked, stunned and a little proud. He was so _cool,_ and he lived with her. Ulquiorra closed his emerald eyes, his version of a sigh, and told her, "Woman, you need to learn to think without speaking. I heard your words, not your thoughts." Orihime blushed and mumbled, "Oh."

Just then, there was a loud knock. Orihime jumped up and ran towards the door in a rather puppy-like fashion. Throwing open the doors, she saw her landlady. She was gibbering with excitement and Orihime, well-used to herself talking that fast, understood perfectly. What Orihime heard: "You know that giant penthouse I've been trying to rent out for the past year? The really fancy one? Well, possibly the prettiest man I have ever met came and decided he wanted to rent it! Isn't that amazing? Oh, and he wants to speak with you." What Ulquiorra, who'd snuck up behind her, heard: "YouknowthatgiantpenthouseI'  
anddecidedhewantedtorentitisn'." After that, she took a deep gasping breath and looked suspiciously at Ulquiorra before asking at a normal speed, "Who is this young man? Why is he here so late?"

Orihime looked over her shoulder at Ulquiorra and said dismissively, "Who, him? Oh, he's nobody. Just a-" "Transfer student," Ulquiorra interrupted, nodding at the woman. "I am Ulquiorra Cifer. I apologize for not introducing myself sooner. I only arrived a few days ago. I was settling in." "Where did you transfer from?" she asked, still watching him warily. "Spain," he replied smoothly. She shrugged and gestured for them to follow her. "Well, I guess you can come meet the new occupant too."

They trailed her up the many stairs until she got to the exquisite penthouse. The landlady fluffed her hair before ringing the doorbell. A beautiful chiming noise echoed throughout the house. After a few seconds, the door swung inward to reveal- "Byakuya?" Orihime gasped. Without thinking, she hurled forward and hugged him tightly, giggling. "It's so good to see you here! Why didn't you tell us you were coming? Does Rukia know?" Byakuya, after sighing slightly, pat her gently on the head, ignoring the fact that his slate eyes had softened slightly. For some reason, he just couldn't be as disdainful of the exuberant, sweet human girl as he wanted to be. He knew he wasn't alone in that regard. To this day, Ukitake and Kenpachi both got a kinder look on their faces when Orihime came up, and during the captain meetings where Commander-General Yamamoto portrayed her as the bad guy, they would both stand in her defense, along with Hitsugaya. However, enough was enough. He caught her male companion's eyes over her shoulder.

You know how when stars collide, it makes a really big explosion? That's what Ulquiorra meeting Orihime had been like. Ulquiorra meeting Byakuya, however, was like star meets star, stars analyze each other, recognize same pattern, stars nod and float off, doing their normal celestial stuff. They were made of the same matter. Hence, neither cared enough to feel anything other than vague interest that faded pretty quickly. Either way, Ulquiorra most definitely recognized the strained look on Byakuya's, to anyone else, impassive face. Nodding slightly, Ulquiorra reached out and drew Orihime to him, whispering, "Woman, that's enough." Smiling, Orihime squeezed his hand, ignoring the landlady's incredulous and jealous expression. Both Ulquiorra and Byakuya could practically hear the woman screaming in her mind, _How the hell is she on such close terms with these two hot men? Must be the boobs..._

Byakuya turned his stone grey eyes on the woman and said politely and coldly, "You may leave." She nodded and stumbled down the stairs. Immediately, Byakuya closed his eyes and invited them in for tea. Laughing and still holding on to Ulquiorra's hand, Orihime bounced in to hear the story of how he was sent there by the Commander-General for the sobering reason that they had gotten a tip from Rangiku from Gin that he and Aizen were in Karakura.

*4*4*4*4*4*4*

Ulquiorra gazed at the white ceiling as if it had the answers he was so desperately searching for. Aizen was back. His old master, his father, his lord, and he would most definitely be aware of Ulquiorra's presence. What did this mean? Would Aizen try to recruit Ulquiorra? Did Ulquiorra want to return? The woman had given him new life. Did that mean he was supposed to stay with her? Not to mention, Aizen had never technically- Ulquiorra froze the thought, remembering that Aizen had actually said that Orihime was no longer to be guarded. Ulquiorra cursed. There was once a time when he scorned the imbeciles who couldn't keep their thoughts straight. Now, he was one of them.

Still, though, where did his loyalties lie? Soul Society had been content with him living, but that was when Aizen was thought to be somewhere in Hueco Mundo. Now, he wouldn't be surprised if they came for him the next day. If he returned to Aizen, though, would he be anymore free than he would with Soul Society? Privately, he knew what he wanted. He wanted to stay with the woman. Watch her laugh with her friends. Tonelessly ask what in the name of all things holy was she eating. Look down on her warm smile. Feel her hands grip his tightly again. He didn't even need her to be _with_ him. Hell, she could be with Kurosaki, if it made her happy. As soon as he thought that, the possessive, hollow side of him, or rather, his Zanpakuto, Murcielago, snorted and said, _Yeah, right. You'd kill him first and say it was a slip of the hand and his dying wish was for her and you to be together forever_. Ulquiorra wisely chose to ignore this statement. No matter the truth of it.

Right as he was mulling over that, he felt a crushing sensation on his lungs. Not enough to hurt him, but enough to let him know something was _wrong,_ and it had to do with Orihime. In a second, he was more than halfway to her room, when a hand shot out and stopped him. Ulquiorra turned sharply to see a grinning face. "Sorry, Ulqui," Gin smirked. "Aizen said not not ta let ya pass. But if ya answer a question I got for ya, maybe I can make it seem like ya defeated me. Deal?"

*4*4*4*4*4*4*

Orihime stared up at her dark ceiling blankly, unaware that Ulquiorra was doing the exact same thing in the room down the hall from hers. Aizen and Gin. Well, Orihime actually liked Gin, so it was mainly the fact that last night Aizen had been wandering her neighborhood and no one here on Earth sensed it that bothered her. How did she know if he wasn't nearby right now? For all she knew, he could be standing right above her, with his scary smile, a hand reaching out to grab her... Orihime screamed and ducked under her blankets, shuddering. She couldn't help it. She was terrified. Both Gin and Ulquiorra had said that Aizen was likely to come after her again, this time to kill her, as she was the only one who could get rid of the hogyokou.

Out of the blue, Orihime started experiencing the strangest sensation. She felt like something heavy was sitting on her chest, pushing the breath out of her. She choked weakly and tried to breathe. She could feel her lungs pump, but no air came. She attempted to gasp and tried to scream, but she couldn't get enough air. She was dying, drowning in oxygen, she couldn't, she couldn't-

Her door burst open. Ulquiorra was standing there, Murcielago in his hand. With narrowed eyes, he automatically focused on empty space on her bedside. Instantly, the pressure dissolved. Her open window slammed shut. Orihime lay in her bed for a few brief seconds, and then hurled herself forward and buried her face in Ulquiorra's chest. His familiar arms wrapped around her trembling body. After a few choked sobs as she tried not to cry, she asked quietly, "How did you know that I needed help?" He was silent for a long time. Then, he said, "I have become highly accustomed to your spiritual pressure, to the point where I can feel the tiniest fluctuations and, up to a point, can experience what you are going through." Orihime gaped at him. He continued. "It started when I was your caretaker and had to be aware of your every move. You resurrecting me only strengthened it. I felt your struggle to breathe and tried to get here as fast as I could. Unfortunately, Gin was sent to block me. He played a riddle with me, and then dramatically increased his spiritual pressure and flung himself out a window, waving the whole time." Orihime laughed. "Gin's so smart. He knows exactly what to do to keep Aizen not suspicious." Right as she said that, new arrivals came.

Rangiku flew in through the window, her blue eyes steely, Haineko raised. Byakuya was suddenly in the doorway, a pink mist around him. To Orihime's surprise, Rukia was peeking over his shoulder, violet eyes flicking around the empty room, Sode no Shirayuki glowing slightly. "What happened? We felt your spiritual pressures rise," Rukia demanded. Rangiku started snickering, sheathing Haineko. "Look at their position, Rukia. All the Espada's wearing is pajama bottoms, and that's a pretty sexy night shirt, Orihime." Orihime went bright red and tried to jump away from Ulquiorra, tugging nervously at the bottom and top of her low-cut, high-ride button up. He slowly released her, somehow retaining his dignity.

Byakuya looked disdainfully at Rangiku and stated, "Ah, yes, That's why Miss Orihime has been crying, why the Espada has his Zanpakuto, and why there are traces of Gin's spiritual pressure in the hallway. It appears Kyoka Suigetsu can only mask Aizen's presence." Rukia and Rangiku glanced sharply at the couple. Ulquiorra answered their inquiring glances. "Aizen appeared and tried to strangle her with Kido. Apparently, Kyoka Suigetsu was considered unneeded. Ichimaru was sent to stop me, but after communicating a message, he made it seem like I had disposed of him temporarily. Aizen knows I can see through his illusions and didn't want to fight as of now, so when I interrupted, he left. As of when you walked in, I was comforting her." Rukia opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted when with a loud crash, Grimmjow broke through her wall, ignoring the door five feet away, yelling, "All right, I felt that bastard's spiritual pressure! Where's Gin, and more importantly, where's that dumbass Aizen!"

Rangiku laughed and skipped off, heading for where she was staying at the Vizard warehouse. Byakuya turned to Grimmjow and told him coldly, "Rukia will be staying with me in my penthouse. The orange-haired substitute is willing to let you take her place in his house. I advise you take him up on his offer." With that, he spun on his heel and left, scarf fluttering behind him. Rukia waved to Orihime and followed him. Ulquiorra muttered, "Trash," and threatened to cero a grumbling Grimmjow out the window. Luckily, Grimmjow took the hint and left, heading to Ichigo's. Orihime sighed and started to get back in bed. Ulquiorra didn't move. Orihime raised an eyebrow and looked to where he was standing at the foot of her bed, with as close to a _Are-you-kidding-me?_ face as he got.

"What?" she asked finally. "Grimmjow just blew a hole in your wall. You're planning on sleeping in here?" he asked with a hint of incredulity. Orihime shrugged. "Where else would I sleep?" Ulquiorra sighed and threw her over his shoulder, carrying her to his room, muttering, "You've slept in my bed once before, I don't know why it would bother you to do it again." Orihime was bright red and gaping for a few seconds, and then she started struggling with a vengeance. Ulquiorra calmly removed her foot from where it was embedded in his stomach before tossing her carelessly on the bed. She made quite the picture, moonlight shining on her rumpled, dazed form, orange hair messy, silver eyes wide, shirt crooked and far too revealing. However, as soon as she got her bearings, she tried to run away. Immediately, Ulquiorra pinned her to the bed. Hovering over her, he whispered in a slightly lower tone than usual, "Woman, I would truly prefer to do this the easy way. However, I will tie you down, if that is necessary."


	6. Chapter 6

**A.N. **Once again, sorry for the shortness, but I figured something was better than nothing! It may seem kinda fillerish, but Grimmjow raises some very good points. And the last half was dedicated to Gin, who tried so hard and fought for all of the reasons.

_I forget the last time I felt brave  
I just recall insecurity.  
'Cause it came down like a tidal wave  
And sorrow swept over me._

_Then I was given grace and love.  
I was blind but now I can see.  
'Cause I found a new hope from above,  
And courage swept over me._

Chapter Five

Grimmjow was really grateful that no kids were out this time of night. He had a feeling they would be permanently scarred if they heard some of the obscenities he was grumbling under his breath. He couldn't believe that they were sending him to that stupid strawberry's house! Then again, Grimmjow thought, kicking a can through a brick wall contemplatively. This could be lots of fun...

His thoughts wandered, turning to the people he had just seen at Princess' house. The pretty blonde, with the huge boobs, she looked vaguely familiar. Grimmjow concentrated hard, before remembering the time he had snuck into Gin's room. He'd had a picture of her hidden behind the mirror in the bathroom. They didn't look like siblings, but Gin always claimed to not care for anyone. Shrugging, Grimmjow thought of the girl he had shoved a fist through that one day.

She was one of the noble families, if he remembered correctly. So was the tall one she came in with her husband? The way she looked at him as if the sun rose and set on him certainly made it look like it. Also, he seemed like he was in way too much of a hurry to get back to his bed. What exactly had they been doing? Grimmjow couldn't help grinning massively. At least _someone_around here was scoring. Everyone else was being too stupid to notice the person right in front of them, namely Ulquiorra and Orihime.

Did they honestly not know what was going on? Did Ulquiorra wonder even for a second why he was so attuned to her, or had he come up with some bullshit explanation as to why he orbited around her and her needs? What about her, though? She had always been so perceptive before. Was she in denial, or did she just pretend she didn't like him because she assumed he would never like her back? Wait, that was stupid. It was obvious to anyone with eyes that he adored her, and hadn't there been some touching death scene? Seriously, if anyone had known that he liked her, surely she would have noticed it first, not Nnoitra, for God's sake!

Grimmjow sighed, blowing a piece of his hair out of his eyes moodily. He would never admit it, but amongst all the destruction he liked causing, he'd always secretly enjoyed watching lovers unite. There was just something about the pure reiatsu that it released that was so opposite to the reiatsu he gave off that drew him to it like a magnet. And that probably explained why he liked Princess so much. No one gave off pure energy like she did. You didn't even have to consume her soul to get a fuzzy feeling; just being around her did the trick. Which was probably why Ulquiorra liked her so much, too. If Grimmjow, who wasn't nearly as dark as Emospada, thrived off innocent reiatsu, Ulquiorra must crave it like a drowning human craved air. Her bubbly personality and good lucks were probably just an added bonus.

That made Grimmjow think. Did that mean the opposite was true? Is that why Princess liked them so much? As Ulquiorra needed her pure energy, did she need his dark energy? Was that why she went with him so willingly when he first kidnapped her? Or why she accepted him so quickly, and brought him back from the dead, and chose him over her best friends? Was she just plain addicted to the dark reiatsu that flooded from Ulquiorra? Or did it just start that way, and now the two would need each other despite the aura that came off of them?

Grimmjow smirked. Oh yeah. He was totally capable of deep thoughts. He just knew better than to speak his mind. That's when he realized he was in front of the orange-haired Shinigami's window. After brief consideration, Grimmjow knew exactly what he wanted to do. Opening the window stealthily, Grimmjow walked over to Ichigo's bed, which wasn't far from the window. With a careful eye, Grimmjow saw exactly the opening he was looking forward. Reaching out, he plucked a corner of the bedspread and yanked hard, sending the strawberry twirling off the bed while simultaneously laying himself down and staring at the spluttering Shinigami.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ichigo hissed. "Um, sleeping? Come on, do you honestly think I would degrade myself to your closet?" Grimmjow replied calmly. Ichigo laughed disbelievingly. "Uh, yeah. That's my bed, and if you think for one second that I'm-" "Go to your closet," Grimmjow ordered, pointing imperiously. Ichigo gaped before shaking his head. "You know what, I am just too tired to deal with this now. I'll figure it out in the morning." That said, he slwoly trudged into the closet before accidentally stubbing his toe, cursing loudly, and falling into the closet. Immediately, little feet pattered down the hallway.

"Ichigo, are you okay?" a small girl with honey-colored hair asked, looking at Ichigo, oblivious to Grimmjow. Blinking, she asked, "Why are you in the closet?" Grimmjow cracked up. "Yeah, Ichigo, why are you in the closet? I mean, come on, we all know. No one's gonna judge you." Ichigo flipped him off and the little girl blinked again. "Come on, ask the girl if she doesn't already know you're gay," Grimmjow encouraged, smiling toothily. Ichigo glared at him murderously before saying, "Yuzu, do you think I'm gay?"

Yuzu laughed. "Is that what this is about? Don't worry, Daddy already told us, and we support you all the way! He just asked us to remind you to be quiet when you sneak boys in your window." Ichigo looked like he was choking as Grimmjow howled with laughter, thrashing on the bed. Between gasps, Grimmjow panted, "I- told you- so! Everyone- HAHA- knows you're gay!"

"Yuzu, please leave," Ichigo asked, forcibly calm. Yuzu gasped, looking worriedly in the closet behind Ichigo. "Oh! I get it. Someone's here and, that's why you were making loud noises, and, I'll leave now." Hastily, she slammed the door shut and ran giggling to her room, already whisper-yelling, "Karin, Karin, guess what?" Ichigo twitched while Grimmjow snickered away on his bed.

"Grimmjow, if you don't shut up and go to sleep, or if you tell anyone what just happened, I swear to God, I will turn you into diced dog food." Grimmjow obliged him, and the room was silent but for the sound of Ichigo rustling until, "Grimmjow? Not that I'm saying I am, but how many people think I'm gay?" Grimmjow smirked, feeling oddly victorious. "Oh, everybody, except for Orihime and Ulquiorra." Ichigo was quiet for a few seconds before saying, "Well, shit." Grimmjow started laughing again, and, to his surprise, after a few seconds, Ichigo joined in.

Elsewhere, a couple of lovers and best friends were reuniting. Rangiku sat on the roof of the Vizard warehouse, watching her breath mist in front of her face, remembering with a smile that her captain's birthday was soon. Suddenly, a pair of long legs were on either side of her. Similarily long fingers wrapped around her waist and a warm neck rested at the juncture between her shoulder and her neck.

"Mmm, ya still usin' that persimmony smelly stuff I bought you, Ran?" "No, that ran out months ago. Strangely enough, the day afterwards more appeared in my bathroom," Rangiku answered Gin, leaning her head back to rest it on his shoulder, revelling in the feeling of completeness. "That is strange," he agreed, taking her hands in his own. "I missed you," Rangiku told him, knowing better than to ask if Aizen was watching. Gin was brilliant; he wouldn't be here unless in was one hundred percent safe.

"Didja? That's really good, cuz I missed ya too, and it would be a shame for it to be one-sided." Rangiku chuckled. "Of course I missed you. I've only known you what, since you saved my life at the age of eight?" Gin's smile grew. "I did make a bit of an impression, didn't I." "Of course you did, and you kept being there for me. You know, for a long time after you betrayed us, people would still be afraid to hit on me, terrified that you would appear all of a sudden and kill them for daring to talk to the creepy Captain of Third Division's woman." Gin pouted. "Wait, they got over their fear? That ain't smart. When I come back, I'm gonna have to start shish kabobbin'. Don't matter if I'm there or not, they better not be talking bad about ya or to ya."

Rangiku laughed. "There you go again. You always do this. You leave, make me feel terrible, wonder what I could've done to make you stay, and then you come back and treat me like a princess. And things are okay for a while. But then you have to leave again because Aizen orders you to." Gin frowned before kissing her shoulder softly. "Don't worry Ran. I'm gonna kill 'im soon, and then it's gonna be you and me, together forever. I won't leave again, even if the Soul King his royal self demands it." Rangiku sniffled, reverting back to her eight year old self. "Promise?" One elegant finger tilted her chin so she was looking at him and he opened his ice blue eyes so she could read his seriousness and swore, "I promise."

She smiled, baby blue eyes lighting up, before turning to face the stars and snuggling back into him, sighing as he started playing with her long blonde hair. Quietly, he started crooning the song he used to sing to her on cold nights when they were all alone, it was dark, and they were hungry and scared.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey." Trying not to cry, Rangiku joined in. "You'll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away." " I love you Ran," Gin said quietly, looking at the constellations. "I know. I love you, too, Gin. Even though you're a lying bastard." "Heh. I know."

An unseen Shinji slowly snuck away, doubts assuaged, swallowing hard, knowing that tonight was not the couple's first and probably their last until Aizen was six feet under.


	7. Chapter 7

**A.N.** Not sure if I've ever done this, but I don't own Bleach. Just clarifying, in case you were confused.

_What's with the Angel?  
And what's with the Devil?  
They keep swapping shoulders,  
And I can't tell which from which._

_"Will you be my Kriskindle?  
Will you be my better nature?"  
Says one to the other,  
But I think they're only showing off._

Chapter Six

Orihime tried her best to keep her heartbeat under control as she looked up into the face of one Ulquiorra Cifer. He was gorgeous, she could admit that much. The way the moonlight added to the monochromatic impression of older, simpler times. Snowy face, white lips, black eyelashes, inky hair. The only color at all was the vibrant jade of his unnerving, piercing eyes. The same as when he was her captor, he took her breath away, made her heart pound a new rhythm, caused thoughts that made her blush to worm their way into her normally innocent thoughts.

Unbeknownst to her, Ulquiorra was entertaining the same sort of thoughts. Even in the moonlight, which was leaching color out of most everything, she was still bright and colorful. Her rosy cheeks glowed in the darkness, starlight colored eyes glittered, hair the shade of copper gleamed, spread across the pillow like sunbeams breaking free of clouds. Just like in the colorless halls of Las Noches, she was luminescent. She pulled all attention to her as she danced through life like the fire of her hair, oblivious of both her charms and quirks and the irreparable changes she made.

Like magnets, they were drawn to each other by a pull as irresistable as gravity. And it was, of course, because of gravity that Ulquiorra's head was sinking, drawing closer and closer to Orihime's. It was because of the exertion of holding himself immoblie above her that his breath was quickening. And her breath quickening was because she was odd. She always acted strangely, it wasn't because she wanted him to kiss her or anything.

While Ulquiorra was thinking denial thoughts, Orihime was thinking along the lines of _Oh my God. Ulquiorra's gonna kiss me._As soon as she thought this, she panicked. Ulquiorra _couldn't_kiss her! Not because she didn't want him to, because, oh!, she did, more than she had ever wanted Ichigo to even _smile_ at her, but because it would ruin _everything_. She wouldn't be able to look at him, he wouldn't talk to her, and their friendship would be ruined, all because she couldn't control her hormones. So she did the only thing that made sense at the time.

"Did you know that giant squids' have the largest eyeballs out of any known creature?"

Ulquiorra paused. "No. I must confess I did not know that." Orihime nodded wildly before babbling. "Uh-huh. Massive eyeballs. Huge. Bigger than a dinner plate. Mmm, dinner! That's one of my favorite meals! What do you think we should have for dinner tomorrow? I was thinking something with oranges, because I don't know about you, but I am in the mood for oranges, and how come oranges have a color named after them? Why isn't there a fruit called pink, or a vegetable called chartreuse, or a bread called vermilion? It's totally color-racist-"

Without speaking, Ulquiorra rose and sat with his back to the door, emerald eyes open but unreadable. "Sleep, woman," he ordered. "I still feel compelled to watch out for your well-being, and unless you sleep now, you won't have enough rest for education tomorrow." Sighing, Orihime turned on her side and whispered, "Yes, Ulquiorra. Please. Try to get some sleep as well." There was no reply, but assured that he was protecting her, she drifted off quickly.

Orihime woke up to Ulquiorra's emotionless voice. "... and your friends will be worried and conclude that I have done something to harm you and will attempt to kill me because you didn't show up for school and that obviously means that I did something to harm you." "Ulquiorra," Orihime murmured sleepily. "You have been around me too long. I think you were actually babbling just then." She felt Ulquiorra pause before replying haughtily, "I was not babbling, woman. I was simply explaining why it was essential that you get up and get ready for school."

Laughing, Orihime swung herself out of bed. "All right, Ulquiorra. But you know I know the truth." He didn't reply, instead, leaving the room, already dressed in his uniform. A few seconds later, the smell of cooking eggs permeated the air and Orihime sniffed the air appreciatively before starting to dress. As soon as she was ready for school, dressed, hair and teeth brushed, a touch of eyeliner, and bag packed, she ambled into the kitchen, where Ulquiorra was putting an omelet on her plate.

She sat at the table eagerly, smiling when she saw her favorite condiments already by her. "Ulquiorra, you are amazing," she complimented, smiling at him. "Powdered sugar, red bean paste, relish, and ketchup to go along with the breakfast you made!" Ulquiorra cast her a careless glance over his shoulder as he explained, "The Espada took turns cooking. I assumed that applied here. Since you spoke so much in Las Noches, I knw most everything that you desire to go with your meals."

Orihime's smile broadened. "See? You called it useless babble, but now aren't you glad I told you that? Otherwise you would've made my omelet boring." Ulquiorra nodded, acknowledging her point. "So I see. However, I stand by my original claim of you being a strange and powerful woman, because I believe that the things you eat would give any other human food poisoning."

Orihime ignored the slight about her taste and instead said, "You think I'm powerful?" Ulquiorra looked at her as he sat down across from her. "Was it not you who told Kurosaki that I am the one who taught you that you were strong? I wouldn't have bothered unless I believed it myself." She glanced down, blushing. Her ash eyes flickered up again, however, and they were full of awe and glee.

"Thank you." Ulquiorra looked away, shocked by the intensity and emotion in those two words. "I didn't do anything other than see the truth." Orihime shook her head. "No, it was more than that. You believed in me." There was a brief silence, and then Orihime stood, taking Ulquiorra's hand and pulling him with her. "Come on. We're going to be late for school." Ulquiorra glanced down at their intertwined hands with wide eyes, but tightened his fingers, growing pleasantly warm when she squeezed his hand back.

Their days passed quickly, and with a relieving sense of normality. Aizen seemed to have backed off, and everyone was enjoying the peace. Grimmjow had flatly refused high school, so he worked in Urahara's shop both as an employee and a test subject. Ulquiorra grew closer to the group, until the only person actively against his presence was Ichigo, and he was always shut up by either Rukia, if they were at school, or Grimmjow, if they were hanging out somewhere else.

Everyone accepted Ichigo and Grimmjow as a couple, except Ichigo himself, who pretended that they were just close friends. Uryu and Tatsuki had recently started dating, to the surprise of everyone but Renji, who was Tatsuki's best guy friend. Ulquiorra and Orihime's relationship was slightly more complicated. Orihime insisted, Ulquiorra calmly agreeing, that they were just friends. Friends who would randomly start dancing together.

(Shinji, Renji, Rangiku, Yumichika, Ikkaku, Rukia, Byakuya, Chad, Tatsuki, Uryu, Ichigo, Orihime, Grimmjow, and Ulquiorra had been walking to the park, and, as per usual, Ulquiorra and Orihime had been holding hands. Suddenly, Ulquiorra had stopped and twirled Orihime, who went with the flow quite easily. Catching his other hand, Orihime had fallen with her back to his chest, her hands holding his arms around her. Soon, he had swung her out again, and they waltzed the rest of the way to the park, Orihime giggling away and Ulquiorra's mouth curved ever so slightly.)

Friends who lived together, and, to the horror of Tatsuki and Ichigo, often slept in the same bed.

("It's to keep the nightmares away!" Orihime had protested when the group had barged in one weekend and found them cuddled up together, asleep.)

Friends who were almost always touching.

("Mmm, thank you for playing with my hair, Ulquiorra." or "Ulquiorra, you look tense. Do you need a neck rub?" "Yes. Thank you, woman." or "Ulquiooooora! My head hurts!" "Here. Put your head between my legs." *insert spluttering Ichigo* "Ohh... thank you for massaging my temples Ulquiorra!" or "Woman, it is past midnight. Why are we still watching movies?" "'Cause it's fun! Here, you can lay down on my lap. I won't mind if you fall asleep.")

Friends who went crazily possessive or jealous whenever the other was asked on a date.

(On the way to English class one day, a senior boy had made his way over and braved the group of freaks, as they were called, to ask Orihime on a date. Ulquiorra instantly wrapped an arm around Orihime's waist, pulling her to him, and his aura was suddenly very intimidating, his blank face screaming menace. The clueless boy didn't notice. Uryu and Renji took one look at Ulquiorra's face and immediately escorted the boy far away. When he protested, Renji muttered, "Trust me. It's for your own protection." Uryu had added, "And don't even look at her whenever Ulquiorra's around, or he _will _rip your heart out, and we wouldn't be able to stop him." Orihime's reaction had been to watch with curiosity before wrapping her own arm aroung Ulquiorra's waist and walk to class with him.

The same had happened with Ulquiorra. A very pretty girl had asked Ulquiorra out during lunch. Ulquiorra had regarded her silently and disdainfully for a second before his gaze was drawn to Orihime, as always. Orihime had very carefully moved to stand in front of Ulquiorra and replied, "He's unavailable." Ulquiorra had folded his arms, encasing Orihime neatly. Her hands had reached up and pressed his forearms harder into her collarbone while he bent down his head and whispered in her ear, "I was ignoring her." His green eyes didn't even flicker towards the unwanted female. Orihime had stood on her tiptoes and whispered in his ear, "Keep ignoring her. I have it under control." Seeing the intimacy of the two, and the cruelty behind the display, the girl strutted off in an attempt to retain her dignity, not knowing she was already forgotten.)

Oh, yeah. They were _just_ friends.

It was the beginning of December, on the very day that marked the beginning of the Winter War last year that everything changed from the comfortable routine. Ms. Ochi was saying the class announcements, when she added at the end, "Oh, and we have two new students. Again." With that, the door had opened and revealed two teenage forms. The first had average height, glasses, and wavy brown hair that fell into his face softly, a benign smile firmly in place. The second was tall and skinny, with strange silver hair, narrowed eyes, and a wide, creepy smirk. Unaware of the panic sweeping through the aware half of her class, Ms. Ochi announced, "Sousuke Aizen and Gin Ichimaru. Class, say hi."


	8. Chapter 8

**A.N. **It's short again, yeah, but this shocked _me_. And I'm going to need your help~ more at the bottom. By the way, if you absolutely HATE this, please, let me know.

_Swear to shake it up_

_If you swear to listen,_

_We're still so young,_

_Desperate for attention._

_I aim to be your eyes,_

_Trophy boys, trophy wives. _

Chapter Seven

Three loud cracks filled the room, and everyone turned to see Ichigo, Ikkaku, and Renji knocked out, Ulquiorra, Yumichika, and Rukia, respectively, being the obvious culprits. Orihime stood, gasping. "Oh, no! Ms. Ochi, Uryu, Chad, Shinji, Yumi, Ulquiorra, Tatsuki, Rukia, and I will hurry and take them to the nurse's office!" Tatsuki stood next to her, adding on, "Gee, the pressure of having to add two new students must have gotten to them. Oh, well. Bye!"

That said, Rukia grabbed Ichigo by the collar, Shinji easily lifted Renji, and Yumichika grabbed Ikkaku and they raced out the door before the stunned, and slightly exasperated, teacher could do anything. On an unspoken cue, the gang followed instinct and raced to Urahara's Shop.

"Kisuke! Kisuke!" Orihime bellowed as they burst through the door, scared tears forming slightly in her eyes. "Aizen is a student at Karakura High! He's going to steal Uryu's place as the smartest student, then he's going to trip us in the halls and tip our lunch trays, and then he's going to alienate all of our friends, and then he's going to yell, 'Mwahahahaha!' in our faces!" "After he kills us," Ulquiorra added smoothly, his hands in his pockets. Orihime smiled at him and corrected herself. "After he kills us. Thank you, Ulquiorra." He nodded briskly. "We must not forget his murderous intentions." Orihime nodded solemnly, and the two ignored the incredulous looks of their peers.

"Well, as long as you two are together, it'll all be sunshine, lollipops, and damn rainbows," Grimmjow stated sarcastically, one blue eyebrow raised. Uryu snickered, muttering to Ichigo, "I can't believe a guy as manly as him just said that."

Orihime smiled at him patronizingly. "Grimmy, how many times do we have to tell you? We're just really close friends." "Yeah, atomically close, and with benefits," Grimmjow retorted. "You know the word 'atomically'?" Ichigo mumbled as Orihime asked, "What are friends with benefits?"

The shop went dead silent. Looking slightly irritated, Ulquiorra declared, "I, too, am unsure. What is the meaning of benefited friends?" Grimmjow cocked his head to the side like a curious cat and answered bluntly, "It's two people who are 'just friends' that get groiny regularly." Orihime blushed while Ulquiorra closed his eyes disdainfully. "We don't get groiny," she argued weakly, ignoring the fact that part of her, a rather large part of her, was rather disappointed by this fact. Suddenly, a thought hit her.

"Guys!" she yelled excitedly, her face bright. Tatsuki, recognizing the signs of one of Orihime's 'brilliant' ideas, paled. "I've got a brilliant idea! Why don't we challenge Aizen to a cheer-leading tournament, and if he loses, he has to be turned in to Soul Society, and if we lose, we have to do whatever he tells us! We could have the cutest outfits, coordinated to go with our eyes, and we'll dance to really cool singers like Katy Perry, and Lady GaGa! We could even wear outfits like Lady GaGa's!"

Now, everyone was pale. Except Kisuke, who exclaimed, "That's genius!" Simultaneously, every occupant in the room but Shinji, Ulquiorra, and Orihime's jaw dropped. Shinji and Kisuke seemed to be communicating silently, Orihime was glowing, and Ulquiorra was surveying her with something akin to fear. "You're making us cheerleaders?" Ichigo whispered, he and the others having awoken. Uryu tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Well, I could have quite fun with the clothing design," he mused. Any man who didn't already look sick now did, excluding Yumichika, who actually looked vaguely excited.

"Of course not!" Kisuke laughed. Then he paused. "Actually, maybe." Shinji shrugged and continued. "Why don't we challenge the duo to a series of challenges? You know, one for Zanpakuto fighting, one for Kido, one for soccer, et cetera." "One for cheerleading?" Orihime asked excitedly. Shinji shrugged. "Why not? It'd be funny to see everyone dance in skirts."

"Yeah, but... Aizen has to agree!" Renji fought desperately. "I do," a calm voice said, amused. Everyone spun to see regular Aizen and Gin standing in the doorway. "On two conditions. One, certain Espada and Fraccion are brought back on the condition that they serve as my teammates, nothing else. Two, there are ten events. We choose five, you choose five." Ignoring the uproar Aizen's appearance caused, Kisuke grinned. "Deal. On the condition we use the hogyokou to seal the deal." "What the f-" "Get him ou-" "We gotta attac-" "Holy hel-" Aizen smiled. "Oh, so you found out that the hougyokou can create unbreakable oaths?"

Kisuke beamed back. "Of course~! So, is it a deal?" In the midst of the chaos, the two reached out and clasped hands, ignoring the sudden deafening silence. "I, Kisuke Urahara, do swear to compete with Souske Aizen in a competition compromised of ten events. I do agree to his terms, to reanimate the same number of team members for him as we currently have, and he may decide five of said events. Soul Society will not know what is going on, and we shall not make any moves in the war, excepting this competition. My team consists of seventeen players, which includes myself, Kisuke Urahara, Yoruichi Shihoin, Rukia Kuchiki, Byakuya Kuchiki, Shinji Hirako, Orihime Inoue, Ulquiorra Cifer, Grimmjow Jeagerjaques, Sado Yasutora, Uryu Isida, Tatsuki Arisawa, Yumichika Asayagawa, Ikkaku Madarame, Renji Abarai, Rangiku Matsumoto, and Ichigo Kurosaki. Do you, Sousuke Aizen, have anything to add?"

Aizen smirked. "I noted you never said to play fairly. I, Sousuke Aizen, do agree to the terms said by Kisuke Urahara, and wish to add an eleventh game in the case of a tie, in which the two teams decide on together, and add the prizes and losses of said competition. Should I win, all of your teammates, acquaintances, friends, lovers, and enemies submit to my control. There will be no attempts on my life by any of said people, should I win. If you win, I, Souskue Aizen, will turn myself and my creations in to Soul Society, and will make no escape attempts or flee with anyone who should come to my aid. My team consists of myself, Aizen Sousuke, Gin Ichimaru, Coyote Starrk, Lilynette Gingerback, Barragan Luisenbarn, Tia Harribel, Nnoitra Jiruga, Zomarri LeRoux, Szayel Aporro Granz, Yammy Rialgo, Loly, Menoly, Wonderweiss Margera, Apache, Sun-Sun, Mila-Rose, and Ggio Vega. I, Sousuke Aizen, agree to the terms set by Kisuke Urajara and myself, Sousuke Aizen. Do you, Kisuke Urahara, agree?" Still smiling, Kisuke answered, "I, Kisuke Urahara, do agree to the terms said by Sousuke Aizen. May the best one of us win."

At these words, a black energy poured from Aizen's chest, the pressure of the Hogyokou filling the air. Slowly, it crept down Aizen's arm, glowed briefly when it crossed the intertwined hands, and entered Kisuke's chest. Even Gin's eyes were open for this. A flash of white and red, and then the power disappeared. Smirking, Aizen walked out, Gin following. Kisuke turned to see betrayed and angry expressions.

"I can't believe it," Grimmjow mumbled angrily, face covered by his blue hair. "We're pawns in someone else's game. _Again."_Ichigo looked at him sympathetically, and then glared at Kisuke. "He's right. You've made us pawns." Kisuke tilted his hat, covering his eyes further as he said in a surprisingly gentle tone, "Ichigo, you've all always been pawns. I just made it so now you're my pawns, not Aizen's. Now, someone had better go tell Captain Kuchiki and Vice-Captain Rangiku what's going on. I'll try and survive Yoruichi." That said, he trod off slowly, slightly downcast. The gang exchanged slightly scared looks, and everyone pretended not to notice Orihime grasp Ulquiorra's hand, desperate for comfort.

**A.N II** What do you think? And for the help, what do you guys think of helping me come up with competition ideas? If you lovely reviewers come up with really good ones, I can add them in, because my plot is really vague right now. I know the ending, but for now, well, anything can happen, quite literally.


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